Woe to him through whom temptation comes. But being asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God would come, he answered them: The Kingdom of God will not come in a conspicuous way. I tell you: that night there will be two on the same bed: one will be taken, and the other will be left.

Who can be more cruel than a man who beats a sick person? And the temptation is harder than any blow; it often causes death. Saint John Chrysostom (44, 196).

A fallen one is cursed, but he is more cursed who both falls himself and drags another to a fall, because he will bear the weight of two falls (57, 115).

Most of all, friend, be afraid to seduce anyone; for good in people is not firm, it hardly stands, even when no one shakes it. Rev. Isidore Pelusiot (50, 385).

Let us try our best not to offend our neighbor. Even if our life is the most righteous, but if it serves as a temptation for others, it loses all value. But how is it possible for a righteous life to tempt? (It happens) when a community with other people brings bad fame to her (42, 376)

When we, relying on ourselves, communicate with vicious people, then if we ourselves do not tolerate harm, we tempt others. Even if I do not suspect anything evil, and likewise no one else from the perfect, but the simple-hearted brother suffers harm from your perfection. And we must pay attention to his weakness (42, 376).

If temptation depends on us, then woe to us; if not from us, then nothing. What will happen, you say, if I do what is due, and another utters blasphemy? Nothing to you, but woe to him, because the blasphemy was uttered by him (43, 404).

When some great benefit can occur, and, moreover, surpassing the temptation, then one should not pay attention to those who are tempted. And when there can be nothing more than the temptation of the weak, then even if they were tempted a thousand times unjustifiably, they must be spared ... And God condemns to punishment those who tempt another and contribute to their fall, because to tempt another without any benefit - an extremely wicked thing... What are you saying? Is he who is seduced weak? Therefore, he is "worthy of mercy, not defeat. Does he have wounds? Therefore, we will not inflame them, but heal them. Does he suspect maliciously and recklessly? Therefore, we will eliminate suspicion, and not increase it, because, doing contrary to this, you sin Christ Himself St. John Chrysostom (35, 282).

Nothing hurts our faith more than when we tempt unbelievers (38, 50).

When unbelievers notice even a slight negligence in one of us, then immediately ... because of the carelessness of one, they pronounce a general verdict on all Christians (38, 50).

It is not so detrimental to sin oneself as to lead others into sin (43, 798).

If you care about your salvation, prove it not with words, but with deeds, so that no one will ever blaspheme God ... Therefore, try to correct your life, as the unbeliever will ask you: "How can I know that God commanded the possible? Here you are, being a Christian By your very birth and upbringing in this excellent religion, do you do nothing of the sort?" What will you say about that? Without a doubt, you will begin to answer: "I will show you others who perform, namely: monks living in the deserts (and saints)". But aren't you ashamed to admit that you are a Christian and refer to others, as if you cannot prove that you yourself are doing Christian deeds? The unbeliever will immediately object to you: "Why should I go through mountains and deserts?" If it is impossible to be virtuous without living in the mountains, this can be a great indictment of the Christian life, for the realization of which it is necessary to leave the cities and flee to the deserts (43, 811).

If someone commits a serious sin, but does it secretly and does not tempt anyone, then he will be subject to a lesser punishment than the one who commits lighter sins, but openly, and tempts many (46, 866).

What are temptations? These are obstacles on the straight path (41, 605).

Temptations are allowed so that the firmness of the courageous does not decrease (37, 529).

Temptations awaken people from slumber, make them prudent and insightful, and not only the one who keeps himself from them, but also the fallen one is restored; they teach him caution and make him elusive. Saint John Chrysostom (41, 606).

Do you want to avoid temptations and gossip? “Put ... a guard on your mouth” (Ps. 140:3) in the Lord and “turn away your eyes” “so as not to see vanity” (Ps. 118:37), and you will avoid both: gossip - by silence; temptations - keeping eyes. And if we do not overcome this in ourselves, then wherever we go, we will carry our enemies in ourselves. Defeat them and you will have peace, wherever you live. Rev. Ephraim the Syrian (26, 187).

Take heed to yourself and protect yourself from everywhere; vigilantly guard yourself with the eye of the mind; you walk among the networks, imperceptible loops are placed everywhere by the enemy. Saint John Chrysostom (43, 966).

If we would invariably remain on guard over ourselves, not indulging in satiety and lulling, not defiling the image of God, that is, if we would not allow the good seed to be substituted, then the evil sower would not grow weeds worthy of fire in us. Rev. Isidore Pelusiot (50, 124).

Do not leave your soul or body unattended. For in this way you will overcome both the spirits that tempt from below, and the one who tests hearts and wombs from above ... you will stand boldly. Saint Gregory Palamas (70, 321).

He seduces who, transgressing the law in word or deed, leads another into iniquity, like the serpent Eve and Eve of Adam; or who hinders the fulfillment of the will of God ... or who incites the thought of the weak to something forbidden. Saint Basil the Great (8, 207).

Do not tempt your brother and do not collude with him to sin, lest the Lord be angry with you and hand you over evil people. Rev. Ephraim the Syrian (25, 163).

It is not so harmful to sin yourself as to lead others into sin. Therefore, seeing that others sin, let us not only not push them to sin, but let us try to draw them out of the abyss of vice, so that we ourselves will not be punished for the death of others (42, 781).

Let us never do anything that harms our neighbor in any way. This increases sin and prepares a more severe punishment for us (38, 51).

The weakness of those who are tempted is not only insufficient for our justification, but it especially serves to our condemnation, for the more pure we are from the tempting deed, the more we should have mercy on their weakness (35, 282).

I saw one person who passed on his sinful habit to another, and then ... began to repent and fell behind sin; but since the one taught by him did not stop sinning, his repentance really did not take place. Rev. John of the Ladder (57, 198).

Everything contrary to the will of the Lord is a temptation. Saint Basil the Great (6.341).

Above all, beware of seducing anyone, lest you be excluded from the Kingdom of Heaven along with those who create temptations. Rev. Ephraim the Syrian (25, 153).

If the ascetic remains to live in a place where negligent people live, then he will lose the opportunity to succeed, imperceptibly descending to the way of life with which he is surrounded. The strength of the ascetic lies in the constant effort not to weaken the feat. But if a lazy person lives with an ascetic, he will prosper; if he does not succeed, then at least he will not descend into greater negligence. Sayings of the nameless elders (82, 390).

If you see that a brother has fallen into sin, do not be tempted by him, do not despise and do not condemn him, otherwise you will fall into the hands of your enemies... St. Anthony the Great (82, 23).

Avoid soulful words, not wanting to hear them. And take care that, while running away with your body, you do not retain a secret desire to know what the one who began to say unprofitable intended to tell you. Run resolutely to immediately forget what you had time to listen to... (82, 138).

Vain are the prayers and deeds of the one who has one thing in his heart and another on his tongue out of deceit. Do not make acquaintances with such, so as not to become infected with their poison and filth. Let the mild-tempered be your friends and become a participant in their purity and glory. Abba Isaiah (82, 185).

If you see in the near any temptation even with my own eyes or hear about it - do not believe it. Keep your mind from bad opinions about your neighbor, knowing that demons bring them to divert the mind from the sight of your sins and from striving for God. Abba Elijah (82, 245).

Do not obey carnal temptations and lust. But carnal desires, the desire for food, drink, turn over to the Divine desire, so that the Divine desire peculiar to you will drive far away from your soul carnal temptations and lusts that are not characteristic of you and bring worthy consolation: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” "(Matt. 4, 4).
For carnal pleasures are not consolations proper to the human soul. Appearing from the transgression of Adam in our race, these carnal, perishable pleasures were of necessity allowed before the time, since we have not yet learned to accept Divine spiritual food and do not want to learn this, but we wordlessly renounce and consciously do not want to eat it.
In the coming eternity, we will not eat this corruptible food, but the Divine everlasting grace of the Holy Spirit. Take care of this intelligent Divine food, which you will eat forever. For there is no sure consolation and rest in carnal pleasures, but incessant languor of the soul and rebellion. Not so much consolation as heaviness and bitterness; for the uncharacteristic, the result of a crime, the corruptible cannot bestow the consolation and peace necessary for the soul, it always brings with it only heaviness and embarrassment. In carnal pleasures, in food and drink, there is no peace and rest for the soul, but the constant struggle and rebellion, gloom and darkness. And this food and drink itself is usually associated with many worries and rumors; and in sleep there is no rest and silence, but gloomy dreams and deceptive embarrassments. Divine spiritual immortal food is the peace of the soul, the silence of life, freedom of the spirit, peace of conscience, joy and endless bliss: "They are satisfied from the fatness of Your house, and from the stream of Your sweetness You will give them drink" (Ps. 35, 9). Saint Demetrius of Rostov (103, 1016).

Poor people imitate each other - imitate themselves to their detriment and ruin. This is ... (folly, by which) Christian souls, redeemed by the Holy Blood of Christ, become infected and perish! This is a soul-destroying fire, which, starting in one, burns other spiritual temples (104, 1907-1908).

Temptation most often occurs in two ways: firstly, by corrupting and contrary to the word of God teaching, as heretics and other superstitions do; secondly, the one who lives contrary to the word of God and depravedly treats his brethren gives a temptation. For both a good example and an evil example strike one in the heart, another through hearing or vision; good to good, and evil to evil induces the seer or hearer. Temptation is like a plague of pestilence, which, having begun in one person, infects and kills many who live nearby. So the corrupting doctrine begins in a single chief of heresy, but innumerable people strike and destroy. So one vicious life often gives many an opportunity to commit lawlessness and to do what they have seen or heard. As a house catches fire from a burning neighboring house, so people are kindled and set on fire by the flame of the lawless example of the wicked (104, 1908-1909).

Woe to the world from temptations, according to the word of Christ, but woe to that person through whom the temptation comes. Those who offend sin twice: for they themselves sin and lead others into sin, they themselves perish and lead others to destruction (104, 1909).

The temptations of the world are trying to quench the flaming spark of God's love (104, 1909).

The temptations of unkind parents and evil people are the cause of the sinful state of children after Baptism (104, 1911).

Whoever tempts to condemnation is also guilty (104, 1911).

Great woe to the shepherd if he opens the way to all lawlessness with his temptations (104,1911).

No need to look at what people are doing, whatever it may be: you need to listen and heed what the word of God teaches and what is preached in the holy temples from the same word of God. We must remember the holy life of our Savior, Who taught us in word and deed how to live, and imitate Him. It is necessary to remember the saints of God who followed Him "and, looking at the end of their lives, imitate their faith" (Heb. 13:7). We must turn our hearing and vision away from the obscene; for through them, as through doors, every evil enters the temple of the heart and awakens in us evil lust, and raises up battle. It is necessary to stay more at home and in solitude: solitude does not tempt and does not accept. We must often pray to God and ask Him to keep from temptations: "Turn away my eyes, so that I do not see vanity" (Ps. 118, 37), and also: "Guide me, Lord, to Your way, and I will walk in Your truth "(Ps. 85, 11) (104, 1911-1912).

What do you say, man: others do this and that!... Others, creating lawlessness, go to destruction: do you really need to follow them?... When you do what they do, then you will follow them to death. After all, you are a Christian, the lamp of the Word of God shines on you and shows what is good and what is evil, what is good and what is harm, what is virtue and what is vice, where the narrow path leads and where the spacious one. If you want to be saved, you must do not what people do, but what God's word teaches. In Sodom, everyone was lawless; but the righteous Lot did not look at them, but lived holy and pleasing to God. Be at peace as Lot is in Sodom. Although everyone will drown in luxury and iniquity, do not look at them, but do what the Word of God teaches, and live the way true Christians should live. Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk (104, 1912-1913).

"It is impossible that temptations do not come, but woe to him through whom they come" (Luke 17:1). Therefore, it is impossible to live as you like, wide open. We must carefully look around, so as not to seduce anyone. The mind sighs and does not look at anyone; meanwhile, it arouses temptations all around with deeds, and more with words. The temptation grows and increases the misfortune of the seducer himself, but he does not feel it and expands even more in temptations. It is good that the threat of God for the temptation here on earth is almost not fulfilled, in the hope of correction - this is postponed until the future judgment and retribution, only then will the seducers feel what a great evil temptation is. Here, no one almost thinks about whether he will seduce or not seduce others with his speeches and deeds. Two sins, great in the eyes of God, are imputed to nothing by people: this is a temptation and condemnation. For a seducer, according to the Word of the Lord, it is better not to live; the condemner is already condemned. But neither one nor the other thinks about it, and they cannot even say whether they are sinful in anything like that. What blindness indeed has befallen us, and how heedlessly we walk in the midst of death. Bishop Theophan the Recluse (107, 394-395).

Main hallmark hypocrite, the first arrow he shoots at his neighbor is the temptation and the condemnation of the neighbor that flows from the temptation (108, 422).

Temptation is a painful look at the infirmities of one's neighbor, in which these infirmities grow to an immense, ugly magnitude (108, 423).

In order to weaken and, with God's help, completely eradicate from one's heart the temptation to one's neighbor, one must, in the light of the Gospel, go deep into oneself, watch one's weaknesses (108, 423).

In our time, when temptations have so multiplied, one must especially pay attention to oneself, not paying attention to the lives and deeds of one's neighbors and not condemning those who are tempted, because the corrupting effect of temptation easily passes from those who are carried away by the temptation to the one who condemns them (108, 495).

Woe to one! - When some temptation begins to captivate him, there is no one to stop him (112, 21-22).

We have become so subject to the influence of temptations that even the guidance of the Word of God, the only means of salvation, has been abandoned by us (112,140).

The strength of temptations weakens and is destroyed when the ascetic stands far from them. Bishop Ignatius (Bryanchaninov) (112, 432).

The brother said to Abba Pimen: "I am embarrassed and want to leave my place of residence." The elder asked him: "For what reason?" "Because a rumor has reached me of a certain brother hurting my soul." The elder said: "The rumor that has reached you is unfair." The brother replied: "Father, be sure that you are just, because the brother who gave it to me is faithful." The elder said: "He is not faithful! If he were faithful, he would not be transmitting an evil rumor." The brother answered: "And I, with my own eyes, saw the temptation." The elder said to him: "Put in your heart that your sins are like a log, and your brother's sins are like a twig." Fatherman (82, 339-340).[\more]

Commentary on the book

Section comment

1-2cm Matthew 18:6 sl.

7-10 This parable rebukes those who are proud of their merits before God (cf. Rom 11:35-36). It contains no justification for slavery - Christ only gives an example from Everyday life that time.

14cm Mark 1:44.

"Samaritan" - Jesus Christ especially draws the attention of the disciples to the fact that only a "foreigner" (v. Luke 17:18) the Samaritan returned to thank him for his healing.

19 cm Mt 9:29.

21 "The kingdom of God is within you"- literal: "among you".

Luke 22-37 clearly distinguishes between the predictions of Christ about the destruction of Jerusalem and about His second coming; The Day of the Son of Man is a biblical expression (cf. Am 5:18- "Day of the Lord"), while "parousia" (coming - Matthew 24:3) is a Hellenistic term.

26-27 The judgment of God is prepared imperceptibly and comes unexpectedly to man.

"In the days of Noah" - see Gen 6:7 and sl.

28-29 "In the days of Lot" - see Gen 19:1 and sl.

32 The flight of Lot's family from sinful Sodom ( Gen 19) is a symbol of the flight of the soul from sin. Lot's wife died because she did not obey the command from above and turned her gaze to the abode of evil ( Luke 9:62).

33 cm Mark 8:35.

37 "Eagles" - see Mt 24:28.

1. Luke, "beloved physician", was one of the closest associates of St. Paul (Col 4:14). According to Eusebius (Church East 3:4), he came from Syrian Antioch and was brought up in a Greek pagan family. He received a good education and became a doctor. The history of his conversion is unknown. Apparently, it happened after his meeting with ap Paul, whom he joined c. 50 AD He visited with him Macedonia, the cities of Asia Minor (Acts 16:10-17; Acts 20:5-21:18) and remained with him during his stay in custody in Caesarea and in Rome (Acts 24:23; Acts 27; Acts 28; Col 4:14). The narration of Acts was brought to the year 63. There is no reliable data on the life of Luke in subsequent years.

2. Very ancient information has come down to us, confirming that the third Gospel was written by Luke. St. Irenaeus (Against Heresies 3, 1) writes: "Luke, the companion of Paul, expounded the Gospel taught by the Apostle in a separate book." According to Origen, "the third gospel is from Luke" (see Eusebius, Church. East 6, 25). In the list of sacred books that have come down to us, recognized as canonical in the Roman Church since the 2nd century, it is noted that Luke wrote the Gospel on behalf of Paul.

Scholars of the 3rd Gospel unanimously recognize the writer's talent of its author. According to such a connoisseur of antiquity as Eduard Mayer, ev. Luke is one of the best writers of his time.

3. In the preface to the gospel, Luke says that he used previously written "narratives" and the testimonies of eyewitnesses and ministers of the Word from the very beginning (Luke 1:2). He wrote it, in all probability, before the year 70. He undertook his work "by carefully examining everything from the beginning" (Luke 1:3). The gospel is continued by Acts, where the evangelist also included his personal memories (starting with Acts 16:10, the story is often told in the first person).

Its main sources were, obviously, Mt, Mk, manuscripts that have not come down to us, called "logy", and oral traditions. Among these traditions, a special place is occupied by stories about the birth and childhood of the Baptist, which developed among the admirers of the prophet. At the heart of the story of the infancy of Jesus (chapters 1 and 2) lies, apparently, a sacred tradition in which the voice of the Virgin Mary herself is still heard.

Not being a Palestinian and speaking to Gentile Christians, Luke reveals less knowledge than Matthew and Jn of the setting in which the gospel events took place. But as a historian, he seeks to clarify the chronology of these events, pointing to kings and rulers (eg Luke 2:1; Luke 3:1-2). Luke includes prayers that, according to commentators, were used by the first Christians (the prayer of Zechariah, the song of the Virgin, the song of the angels).

5. Luke views the life of Jesus Christ as a path to voluntary death and victory over it. Only in Lk the Savior is called κυριος (Lord), as was customary in the early Christian communities. The Evangelist repeatedly speaks of the action of the Spirit of God in the life of the Virgin Mary, Christ Himself, and later the apostles. Luke conveys the atmosphere of joy, hope and eschatological expectation in which the first Christians lived. He lovingly paints the merciful appearance of the Savior, clearly manifested in the parables of the merciful Samaritan, the prodigal son, the lost drachma, the publican and the Pharisee.

As a student of Paul Luk emphasizes the universal character of the Gospel (Lk 2:32; Luk 24:47); He leads the genealogy of the Savior not from Abraham, but from the forefather of all mankind (Luke 3:38).

INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOKS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT

The Holy Scriptures of the New Testament were written in Greek, with the exception of the Gospel of Matthew, which is said to have been written in Hebrew or Aramaic. But since this Hebrew text has not survived, the Greek text is considered the original for the Gospel of Matthew. Thus, only the Greek text of the New Testament is the original, and numerous editions in various modern languages ​​around the world are translations from the Greek original.

The Greek language in which the New Testament was written was no longer the classical Greek language and was not, as previously thought, a special New Testament language. This is the colloquial everyday language of the first century A.D., spread in the Greco-Roman world and known in science under the name "κοινη", i.e. "common speech"; yet the style, and turns of speech, and way of thinking of the sacred writers of the New Testament reveal the Hebrew or Aramaic influence.

The original text of the New Testament has come down to us in in large numbers ancient manuscripts, more or less complete, numbering about 5000 (from the 2nd to the 16th century). Until recent years, the most ancient of them did not go back beyond the 4th century no P.X. But lately, many fragments of ancient manuscripts of the NT on papyrus (3rd and even 2nd c) have been discovered. So, for example, Bodmer's manuscripts: Ev from John, Luke, 1 and 2 Peter, Jude - were found and published in the 60s of our century. In addition to Greek manuscripts, we have ancient translations or versions into Latin, Syriac, Coptic and other languages ​​(Vetus Itala, Peshitto, Vulgata, etc.), of which the oldest existed already from the 2nd century AD.

Finally, numerous quotations from the Church Fathers in Greek and other languages ​​have been preserved in such quantity that if the text of the New Testament were lost and all ancient manuscripts were destroyed, then specialists could restore this text from quotations from the works of the Holy Fathers. All this abundant material makes it possible to check and refine the text of the NT and classify it. various forms(the so-called textual criticism). Compared with any ancient author (Homer, Euripides, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Cornelius Nepos, Julius Caesar, Horace, Virgil, etc.), our modern - printed - Greek text of the NT is in an exceptionally favorable position. And by the number of manuscripts, and by the brevity of time separating the oldest of them from the original, and by the number of translations, and by their antiquity, and by the seriousness and volume of critical work carried out on the text, it surpasses all other texts (for details, see "The Hidden Treasures and New Life, Archaeological Discoveries and the Gospel, Bruges, 1959, pp. 34 ff.). The text of the NT as a whole is fixed quite irrefutably.

The New Testament consists of 27 books. They are subdivided by the publishers into 260 chapters of unequal length for the purpose of providing references and citations. The original text does not contain this division. The modern division into chapters in the New Testament, as in the whole Bible, has often been ascribed to the Dominican Cardinal Hugh (1263), who elaborated it in his symphony to the Latin Vulgate, but it is now thought with great reason that this division goes back to Stephen the Archbishop of Canterbury. Langton, who died in 1228. As for the division into verses now accepted in all editions of the New Testament, it goes back to the publisher of the Greek New Testament text, Robert Stephen, and was introduced by him into his edition in 1551.

The sacred books of the New Testament are usually divided into statutory (Four Gospels), historical (Acts of the Apostles), teaching (seven conciliar epistles and fourteen epistles of the Apostle Paul) and prophetic: the Apocalypse or Revelation of St. John the Theologian (see the Long Catechism of St. Philaret of Moscow).

However, modern experts consider this distribution outdated: in fact, all the books of the New Testament are law-positive, historical, and instructive, and there is prophecy not only in the Apocalypse. New Testament science pays great attention to the exact establishment of the chronology of the gospel and other New Testament events. Scientific chronology allows the reader to follow the life and ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ, the apostles and the original Church according to the New Testament with sufficient accuracy (see Appendixes).

The books of the New Testament can be distributed as follows:

1) Three so-called Synoptic Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and, separately, the fourth: the Gospel of John. New Testament scholarship devotes much attention to the study of the relationship of the first three Gospels and their relation to the Gospel of John (the synoptic problem).

2) The Book of the Acts of the Apostles and the Epistles of the Apostle Paul ("Corpus Paulinum"), which are usually divided into:

a) Early Epistles: 1 and 2 Thessalonians.

b) Greater Epistles: Galatians, 1st and 2nd Corinthians, Romans.

c) Messages from bonds, i.e. written from Rome, where ap. Paul was in prison: Philippians, Colossians, Ephesians, Philemon.

d) Pastoral Epistles: 1st to Timothy, to Titus, 2nd to Timothy.

e) The Epistle to the Hebrews.

3) Catholic Epistles ("Corpus Catholicum").

4) Revelation of John the Theologian. (Sometimes in the NT they single out "Corpus Joannicum", i.e. everything that ap Ying wrote for a comparative study of his Gospel in connection with his epistles and the book of Rev.).

FOUR GOSPEL

1. The word "gospel" (ευανγελιον) in Greek means "good news". This is how our Lord Jesus Christ Himself called His teaching (Mt 24:14; Mt 26:13; Mk 1:15; Mk 13:10; Mk 14:9; Mk 16:15). Therefore, for us, the "gospel" is inextricably linked with Him: it is the "good news" of salvation given to the world through the incarnate Son of God.

Christ and His apostles preached the gospel without writing it down. By the middle of the 1st century, this sermon had been fixed by the Church in a strong oral tradition. The Eastern custom of memorizing sayings, stories, and even large texts by heart helped the Christians of the apostolic age to accurately preserve the unwritten First Gospel. After the 1950s, when eyewitnesses to Christ's earthly ministry began to pass away one by one, the need arose to record the gospel (Luke 1:1). Thus, the “gospel” began to denote the narrative recorded by the apostles about the life and teachings of the Savior. It was read at prayer meetings and in preparing people for baptism.

2. Essential Christian centers 1st century (Jerusalem, Antioch, Rome, Ephesus, etc.) had their own gospels. Of these, only four (Mt, Mk, Lk, Jn) are recognized by the Church as inspired by God, i.e. written under the direct influence of the Holy Spirit. They are called "from Matthew", "from Mark", etc. (Greek “kata” corresponds to Russian “according to Matthew”, “according to Mark”, etc.), for the life and teachings of Christ are set forth in these books by these four priests. Their gospels were not brought together in one book, which made it possible to see the gospel story from different points of view. In the 2nd century, St. Irenaeus of Lyon calls the evangelists by name and points to their gospels as the only canonical ones (Against Heresies 2, 28, 2). A contemporary of St. Irenaeus, Tatian, made the first attempt to create a single gospel narrative, composed of various texts of the four gospels, the Diatessaron, i.e. gospel of four.

3. The apostles did not set themselves the goal of creating a historical work in the modern sense of the word. They sought to spread the teachings of Jesus Christ, helped people to believe in Him, correctly understand and fulfill His commandments. The testimonies of the evangelists do not coincide in all details, which proves their independence from each other: the testimonies of eyewitnesses are always individual in color. The Holy Spirit does not certify the accuracy of the details of the facts described in the gospel, but the spiritual meaning contained in them.

The minor contradictions encountered in the presentation of the evangelists are explained by the fact that God gave the priests complete freedom in conveying certain specific facts in relation to different categories of listeners, which further emphasizes the unity of meaning and direction of all four gospels (see also General Introduction, pp. 13 and 14) .

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Commentary on the book

Section comment

1 The following instructions of Christ to the disciples stand apart from the preceding parable. Ev. Luke simply gives here those words of Christ, which he saw fit to communicate to his readers, without placing them in connection with one another. All attempts to establish such a connection seem very unnatural. For the most part, these sayings have already met in the Gospel of Matthew and Mark. Thus, the present verse is a repetition Matthew 18:7 .

2 See Matthew 18:6 .

3-4 Watch yourself. The Lord has just spoken about the temptations that may fall to the lot of His disciples from other people. Now He inspires them that they themselves can give others a reason to tempt, if they do not show forgiving love in relation to the sinning brother.

If he sins against you- cm. Mt 18:15 .

And if seven times - see Matthew 15:21-22 .

He will turn, that is, he will return back, having previously left you with anger.

5-6 The apostles obviously ask for the strengthening of their miraculous faith, which they saw as a gift from God (cf. 1 Corinthians 13:2). The Lord answers them that this is not a special kind of faith, but the highest development of ordinary faith. If they have such a simple faith, they will already be able to work miracles (cf. Mt 17:20). Here, instead of a mountain, a fig tree is mentioned, but the thought does not change from this.

7-10 The parable of the worthless servants is found only in one Ev. Luke. It is impossible to establish a connection with the previous one here. The Lord paints here a picture of the return of a slave from hard work in the field or from the pasture. The master of the slave, not paying attention to the fatigue of the slave, orders him to prepare dinner for him, the master, and serves him girded. And then, when the slave fulfills the master's order, this latter will not even think of thanking him.

The Lord immediately explains this parable. The disciples of Christ must also feel that they are servants of God. When they have done their duty to God, let them not count on any reward. The reward can and will be given, but they themselves, in a sense of humility, must realize that they are slaves, worth nothing, that is, of course, not worthy of special rewards. However, in some ancient translations, namely Syriac, this expression “worthless” is not available: there is only one word “slaves”. I. Weiss believes that this expression is inserted here on the basis of Matthew 26, Art. Chapter 25 (or better, it seems, to assume, on the basis of the 30th verse of the same chapter, where this very expression occurs).

11 Ev. Luke again repeats that Christ is going to Jerusalem, heading towards Jerusalem, although this procession is very slow. So, in the present case, the Lord passes along the line that delimits the two regions: Samaria and Galilee. About Samaria mentions and, moreover, puts it in the foreground in order to explain how among the ten lepers, nine of whom were Jews, one Samaritan found himself.

12-19 At the entrance to one village, Christ was met by ten lepers (cf. Matthew 8:2). They stood at a distance, because the law forbade them to approach healthy people, so as not to infect the latter ( Lev 13:46), and loudly spoke to Christ to have mercy on them. It is clear that they had some faith in Christ as a God-sent prophet. The Lord in response to them commands them to go and show themselves to the priests. Obviously, by this He was giving them to understand that they would now be healed, that the very process of healing had already begun, and that as soon as they reached the priests, they would be completely healthy. The lepers believed the Lord and went to have the priests look at them and declare them cured ( Lev 14:3-4). Where, to which priest the Samaritan went is not said, but, undoubtedly, to his Samaritan. And on the road it turned out that everyone was indeed freed from leprosy. This was a great miracle, and, of course, all those who were healed should have returned to Christ as soon as possible in order to thank Him and, through Him, God for the healing received. But only one of the healed soon, apparently, and without reaching the priest, returned, and this was a Samaritan. Christ, noting the ingratitude of the healed Jews, turns to a foreigner (ἀλλογενὴς cf. Matthew 10:5) with soothing words, pointing out to him what actually saved him.

This fact ev. Luke reports, apparently with the aim of showing that the pagans - the Samaritan was close to them, at least in his origin - turned out to be more able to appreciate the blessings of the opened Kingdom of God than the Jews, who had long been prepared to receive this Kingdom. .

20-21 To the question of the Pharisees, when, according to Christ, the Kingdom of God will come, that is, what can Christ say about the signs and conditions for the coming of this Kingdom, the Lord answers that it will not come “in a noticeable way” ( μετὰ παρατηρήσεως ), i.e., so that his coming could be determined by conspicuous signs. By this the Lord designates the spiritual character of the Kingdom founded by Him, the coming of which therefore is not amenable to human observation and, consequently, cannot be attributed to a specific moment (cf. v. 20 πότε — when).

21 And they will not say, that is, it is impossible to prove the coming of this Kingdom by individual phenomena.

There is inside you, i.e. between you, in your circle it already exists ( ἐντòς ὑμω̃ν ἐστιν ), — and you — mentally adds the Lord — you don’t even notice it. Saying it. The Lord could have had in mind the miracles He performed, and especially the casting out of demons, which testified, as He had said before, that the Kingdom of God had already reached the Jews (cf. Mt 12:28). Some interpreters (from the ancients - John Chrysostom and Theophylact) gave this saying a different meaning. Precisely, in their opinion, Christ spoke here about the fact that the Kingdom of God is “in your souls.” But this interpretation is decisively opposed by the fact that Christ's speech is addressed to the Pharisees, in whose souls the Lord could least of all find signs of the onset and results of this new order of life, which He designated by the name "Kingdom of God."

22-24 Christ, perhaps, after the removal of the Pharisees, turns to His disciples with some explanations about the question raised by the Pharisees about the coming of the Kingdom of God. He speaks of the opening of this Kingdom in its glorious form, which is to co-own with the second coming of the Son of Man (this "Son of Man", therefore, must first depart - an allusion to the death of Christ).

22 Wish . This desire will be evoked in the disciples, probably by the tribulations of the last times.

See at least one of the days(although - the word is superfluous), - that is, to see (in the sense of experiencing, using cf. 1 Peter 3:10) one of the days of the messianic time to rest from sorrows; but since the time of the coming of the Messiah is not yet to come, you will not see that day.

23 And they will tell you, see Mt 24:23,26 .

Like lightning - see Matthew 24:27. The coming of the Messiah will be immediately visible to everyone, and there will be no reason to learn from others about this coming. The lightning that Christ speaks of is extraordinary - it can be seen from one end of the sky to the other (the vault of heaven, according to the Babylonian-Jewish idea, rested at its two ends on the ground).

24 In His day, i.e., on the day of His coming to judge the world (this expression resembles the expression of the prophets “the day of Jehovah.” See, for example, Joel 1:15).

25 See. Mt 16:21 .

26-27 See. Matthew 24:37-39 .

28-30 This comparison is available only in one ev. Luke. For the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, see explanation. book. Genesis ch. 19th.

29 Spilled - more correctly: shed (ἔβρεξε - cf. Mt 5:45). The subject implied here is God.

30 It will appear - more precisely: it will open (ἀποκαλύπτεται) in all its greatness. Until then, He will be hidden in heaven (cf. Col 3:3ff. , 2 Thess 1:7).

31 (See Matthew 24:17-18) This is the instruction of Ev. Luke has the meaning that you need to leave everything earthly in order to be ready to meet the returning Messiah. Obviously Ev. Luke gives this instruction in view of the carefree life depicted above (vv. 26-30), which mankind will lead before the second coming of Christ.

32 Lot's wife is cited as an example of attachment to earthly possessions, because of which she perished (cf. Gen 19:26).

33 (See Mt 10:39) In all likelihood, this saying here refers to the previous mention of Lot's wife. She thought about the property she left behind and, turning towards her house, died. Thus will perish—spiritually—those who will take great care of their bodily life when the Lord calls His followers to self-sacrifice.

34-36 (See Matthew 14:40-41) Art. 36 is recognized by Western publishers of the Gospels as an insert from Mt 24:40. In the New Testament, St. Alexy also does not have this verse.

37 The disciples ask: where exactly will this separation of some people from others take place? The Lord answers that this will be done wherever there are people deserving punishment. For an explanation of the comparison itself, see Mt 24:28 .

Personality of the gospel writer. The Evangelist Luke, according to legends preserved by some ancient church writers (Eusebius of Caesarea, Jerome, Theophylact, Euthymius Zigaben, and others), was born in Antioch. His name, in all likelihood, is an abbreviation of the Roman name Lucilius. Was he a Jew or a Gentile? This question is answered by that place from the epistle to the Colossians, where ap. Paul distinguishes Luke from the circumcised (Luke 4:11-14) and therefore testifies that Luke was a Gentile by birth. It is safe to assume that before entering the Church of Christ, Luke was a Jewish proselyte, since he is very familiar with Jewish customs. In his civil profession, Luke was a doctor (Col. 4:14), and church tradition, although rather later, says that he was also engaged in painting (Nikephorus Kallistos. Church. history. II, 43). When and how he converted to Christ is unknown. The tradition that he belonged to the number of the 70 apostles of Christ (Epiphanius. Panarius, haer. LI, 12, etc.) cannot be recognized as reliable in view of the clear statement of Luke himself, who does not include himself among the witnesses of the life of Christ (Luke 1:1ff.). He acts for the first time as a companion and assistant to the Apostle. Paul during Paul's second missionary journey. This took place in Troas, where Luke may have lived before (Acts 16:10ff.). Then he was with Paul in Macedonia (Acts 16:11ff.) and, on his third journey, Troas, Miletus, and other places (Acts 24:23; Col. 4:14; Phm. 1:24). He also accompanied Paul to Rome (Acts 27:1-28; cf. 2 Tim 4:11). Then information about him ceases in the writings of the New Testament, and only a relatively late tradition (Gregory the Theologian) reports his martyr's death; his relics, according to Jerome (de vir. ill. VII), at imp. Constantius was transferred from Achaia to Constantinople.

Origin of the Gospel of Luke. According to the evangelist himself (Luke 1:1-4), he composed his Gospel on the basis of the tradition of eyewitnesses and the study of written experiences of the presentation of this tradition, trying to give a relatively detailed and correct orderly presentation of the events of the Gospel history. And the works that Ev. Luke, were compiled on the basis of the apostolic tradition - but nevertheless, they seemed to be ev. Luke is insufficient for the purpose he had in compiling his gospel. One of these sources, perhaps even the main source, was for Ev. Luke Gospel of Mark. They even say that a huge part of the Gospel of Luke is in literary dependence on Ev. Mark (this is exactly what Weiss proved in his work on Ev. Mark by comparing the texts of these two Gospels).

Some critics still tried to make the Gospel of Luke dependent on the Gospel of Matthew, but these attempts were extremely unsuccessful and are now almost never repeated. If there is anything that can be said with certainty, it is that in some places Ev. Luke uses a source that agrees with the Gospel of Matthew. This must be said primarily about the history of the childhood of Jesus Christ. The nature of the presentation of this story, the very speech of the Gospel in this section, which is very reminiscent of the works of Jewish writing, make us assume that Luke here used a Jewish source, which was quite close to the story of the childhood of Jesus Christ, set forth in the Gospel of Matthew.

Finally, even in ancient times, it was suggested that the Ev. Luke, as a companion of ap. Paul, expounded the "Gospel" of this particular apostle (Irenaeus. Against heresies. III, 1; in Eusebius of Caesarea, V, 8). Although this assumption is very likely and agrees with the nature of the gospel of Luke, who, apparently, deliberately chose such narratives as could prove the general and main point of the gospel of Paul about the salvation of the Gentiles, nevertheless the evangelist's own statement (1:1 et seq.) does not refer to this source.

Reason and purpose, place and time of writing the Gospel. The Gospel of Luke (and the book of Acts) was written for a certain Theophilus to enable him to be convinced that the Christian doctrine taught to him rested on solid foundations. There are many assumptions about the origin, profession and place of residence of this Theophilus, but all these assumptions do not have sufficient grounds for themselves. One can only say that Theophilus was a noble man, since Luke calls him “venerable” (κράτ ιστε 1:3), and from the character of the Gospel, which is close to the character of the teachings of St. Paul naturally concludes that Theophilus was converted to Christianity by the apostle Paul and was probably previously a pagan. One can also accept the evidence of the Encounters (a work attributed to Clement of Rome, x, 71) that Theophilus was a resident of Antioch. Finally, from the fact that in the book of Acts, written for the same Theophilus, Luke does not make explanations of those mentioned in the history of the journey of St. Paul to Rome of the localities (Acts 28:12.13.15), it can be concluded that Theophilus was well acquainted with these localities and, probably, he himself traveled to Rome more than once. But there is no doubt that the gospel is its own. Luke wrote not for Theophilus alone, but for all Christians who were interested in getting acquainted with the history of the life of Christ in such a systematic and verified form as this history is found in the Gospel of Luke.

That the Gospel of Luke was in any case written for a Christian, or, more correctly, for Gentile Christians, is clearly seen from the fact that the evangelist nowhere presents Jesus Christ as the Messiah predominantly expected by the Jews and does not seek to indicate in his activity and teaching Christ the fulfillment of messianic prophecies. Instead, we find repeated indications in the third gospel that Christ is the Redeemer of the entire human race and that the gospel is for all nations. Such an idea was already expressed by the righteous elder Simeon (Luke 2:31 et seq.), and then passes through the genealogy of Christ, which is in Ev. Luke brought to Adam, the ancestor of all mankind, and which, therefore, shows that Christ does not belong to one Jewish people, but to all mankind. Then, beginning to depict the Galilean activity of Christ, Ev. Luke puts in the forefront the rejection of Christ by His fellow citizens - the inhabitants of Nazareth, in which the Lord indicated a feature that characterizes the attitude of the Jews towards the prophets in general - the attitude by virtue of which the prophets left the Jewish land for the Gentiles or showed their favor to the Gentiles (Elijah and Elisha Lk 4 :25-27). In the Conversation on the Mount, Ev. Luke does not cite Christ's sayings about His attitude to the law (Lk 1:20-49) and Pharisees' righteousness, and in his instruction to the apostles he omits the prohibition for the apostles to preach to the Gentiles and Samaritans (Lk 9:1-6). On the contrary, he only tells about the grateful Samaritan, about the merciful Samaritan, about Christ's disapproval of the immoderate irritation of the disciples against the Samaritans who did not accept Christ. Here it is also necessary to include various parables and sayings of Christ, in which there is a great similarity with the doctrine of righteousness from faith, which St. Paul proclaimed in his epistles, written to the churches, which were composed predominantly of Gentiles.

The influence of ap. Paul and the desire to explain the universality of the salvation brought by Christ, no doubt big influence on the choice of material for compiling the Gospel of Luke. However, there is not the slightest reason to assume that the writer pursued purely subjective views in his work and deviated from historical truth. On the contrary, we see that he gives a place in his Gospel to such narratives, which undoubtedly developed in the Judeo-Christian circle (the story of the childhood of Christ). In vain, therefore, they attribute to him the desire to adapt the Jewish ideas about the Messiah to the views of St. Paul (Zeller) or else the desire to exalt Paul before the twelve apostles and Paul's teaching before Judeo-Christianity (Baur, Gilgenfeld). This assumption is contradicted by the content of the Gospel, in which there are many sections that go against such an alleged desire of Luke (this is, firstly, the story of the birth of Christ and His childhood, and then such parts: Luke 4:16-30; Luke 5:39; Luke 10:22 ; Luke 12:6 ff.; Luke 13:1-5 ; Luke 16:17 ; Luke 19:18-46 etc. (In order to reconcile his assumption with the existence of such sections in the Gospel of Luke, Baur had to resort to a new assumption that in its present form the Gospel of Luke is the work of some later living person (editor).Golsten, who sees in the Gospel of Luke a combination of the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, believes that Luke had the goal of uniting the Judeo-Christian and The same view of the Gospel of Luke, as a work pursuing purely reconciliatory aims of two trends that fought in the primordial Church, continues to exist in the latest criticism of the apostolic writings. Jog. Weiss in his preface to the interpretation of Ev. Luke (2nd ed. 1907) to come to the conclusion that this gospel can by no means be regarded as pursuing the task of exalting peacockism. Luke shows his complete “non-partisanship”, and if he has frequent coincidences in thoughts and expressions with the epistles of the Apostle Paul, then this is due only to the fact that by the time Luke wrote his Gospel, these epistles were already widely distributed in all churches . But the love of Christ for sinners, on the manifestations of which so often ev. Luke, is not anything particularly characterizing the Pauline idea of ​​Christ: on the contrary, the whole Christian tradition presented Christ as loving sinners...

The time of writing the Gospel of Luke among some ancient writers was very early period in the history of Christianity - even by the time of the activity of ap. Paul, and the newest interpreters in most cases assert that the Gospel of Luke was written shortly before the destruction of Jerusalem: at the time when the two-year stay of Apostle ended. Paul in Roman imprisonment. There is, however, an opinion, supported by rather authoritative scholars (for example, B. Weiss), that the Gospel of Luke was written after the year 70, that is, after the destruction of Jerusalem. This opinion wants to find a basis for itself, mainly in the 21st ch. The Gospel of Luke (v. 24 et seq.), where the destruction of Jerusalem is assumed as if it had already taken place. With this, as if, according to the idea that Luke has about the situation Christian Church, as being in a very depressed state (cf. Luke 6:20 et seq.). However, according to the same Weiss, the origin of the Gospel cannot be attributed further to the 70s (as do, for example, Baur and Zeller, who believe the origin of the Gospel of Luke in 110-130, or as Gilgenfeld, Keim, Volkmar - in 100- m g.). Regarding this opinion of Weiss, it can be said that it does not contain anything incredible and even, perhaps, can find its basis in the testimony of St. Irenaeus, who says that the Gospel of Luke was written after the death of the apostles Peter and Paul (Against Heresies III, 1).

Where the Gospel of Luke was written is nothing definite from tradition. According to some, the place of writing was Achaia, according to others, Alexandria or Caesarea. Some point to Corinth, others to Rome as the place where the Gospel was written; but all this is mere conjecture.

On the Authenticity and Integrity of the Gospel of Luke. The writer of the Gospel does not call himself by name, but the ancient tradition of the Church unanimously calls the writer of the third Gospel St. Luke (Irenaeus. Against heresies. III, 1, 1; Origen in Eusebius, Tserk. ist. VI, 25, etc. See also the canon of Muratorius). There is nothing in the Gospel itself that would prevent us from accepting this testimony of tradition. If opponents of authenticity point out that the apostolic men do not cite any passages from it, then this circumstance can be explained by the fact that under the apostolic men it was customary to be guided more by oral tradition about the life of Christ than by records about Him; in addition, the Gospel of Luke, as having, judging by its writing, a private purpose primarily, could just so be considered by the apostolic men as a private document. Only later did it acquire the significance of a universally binding guide for the study of gospel history.

The latest criticism still does not agree with the testimony of tradition and does not recognize Luke as the writer of the Gospel. The basis for doubting the authenticity of the Gospel of Luke is for critics (for example, for John Weiss) the fact that the author of the Gospel must be recognized as the one who compiled the book of the Acts of the Apostles: this is evidenced not only by the inscription of the book. Acts (Acts 1:1), but also the style of both books. Meanwhile, criticism claims that the book of Acts was not written by Luke himself or by any companion of St. Paul, and a person who lived much later, who only in the second part of the book uses the records that remained from the companion of ap. Paul (see, for example, Luke 16:10: we...). Obviously, this assumption, expressed by Weiss, stands and falls with the question of the authenticity of the book of the Acts of the Apostles and therefore cannot be discussed here.

With regard to the integrity of the Gospel of Luke, critics have long expressed the idea that not the entire Gospel of Luke came from this writer, but that there are sections inserted into it by a later hand. Therefore, they tried to single out the so-called "first Luke" (Scholten). But most of the new interpreters defend the position that the Gospel of Luke, in its entirety, is the work of Luke. The objections which, for example, he expresses in his commentary on Ev. Luke Yog. Weiss, they can hardly shake the confidence in a sane person that the Gospel of Luke in all its departments is a completely integral work of one author. (Some of these objections will be dealt with in the Commentary on Luke.)

content of the gospel. In relation to the choice and order of gospel events, ev. Luke, like Matthew and Mark, divides these events into two groups, one of which embraces the Galilean activity of Christ, and the other his activity in Jerusalem. At the same time, Luke greatly abridges some of the stories contained in the first two Gospels, citing many such stories that are not at all found in those Gospels. Finally, he groups and modifies those stories, which in his Gospel are a reproduction of what is in the first two Gospels, in his own way.

Like Ev. Matthew, Luke begins his Gospel from the very first moments of the New Testament revelation. In the first three chapters, he depicts: a) the foreshadowing of the birth of John the Baptist and the Lord Jesus Christ, as well as the birth and circumcision of John the Baptist and the circumstances that accompanied them (ch. 1), b) the story of the birth, circumcision and bringing of Christ to the temple , and then the speech of Christ in the temple, when He was a 12-year-old boy (ch. 11), c) the performance of John the Baptist as the Forerunner of the Messiah, the descent of the Spirit of God on Christ during His baptism, the age of Christ, in which He was at that time, and His genealogy (ch. 3rd).

The depiction of Christ's messianic activity in the Gospel of Luke is also quite clearly divided into three parts. The first part embraces the work of Christ in Galilee (Lk 4:1-9:50), the second contains the speeches and miracles of Christ during His long journey to Jerusalem (Lk 9:51-19:27) and the third contains the story of the completion of the messianic ministry Christ in Jerusalem (Luke 19:28-24:53).

In the first part, where the Evangelist Luke apparently follows Ev. Mark, both in choice and in the sequence of events, made several releases from Mark's narrative. Omitted precisely: Mk 3:20-30, - the malicious judgments of the Pharisees about the expulsion of demons by Christ, Mk 6:17-29 - the news of the taking into prison and the death of the Baptist, and then everything that is given in Mark (and also in Matthew) from history activities of Christ in northern Galilee and Perea (Mk 6:44-8:27ff.). The miracle of feeding the people (Luke 9:10-17) is directly connected with the story of Peter's confession and the first prediction of the Lord about His sufferings (Luke 9:18 et seq.). On the other hand, Ev. Luke, instead of the section on the recognition of Simon and Andrew and the sons of Zebedee to follow Christ (Mk 6:16-20; cf. Mt 4:18-22), tells the story of the miraculous fishing, as a result of which Peter and his companions left their occupation in order to constantly follow Christ (Lk 5:1-11), and instead of the story of the rejection of Christ in Nazareth (Mk 6:1-6; cf. Mt 13:54-58), he places a story of the same content when describing Christ's first visit as Messiah of his fatherly city (Luke 4:16-30). Further, after the calling of the 12 apostles, Luke places in his Gospel the following departments that are not found in the Gospel of Mark: the Sermon on the Mount (Luke 6:20-49, but in a shorter form than it is set out in Ev. Matthew), the question of the Baptist to the Lord about His Messiahship (Luke 7:18-35), and inserted between these two parts is the story of the resurrection of the youth of Nain (Luke 7:11-17), then the story of the anointing of Christ at a dinner in the house of the Pharisee Simon (Luke 7:36-50) and the names of the women of Galilee who served Christ with their property (Luke 8:1-3).

Such closeness of the Gospel of Luke to the Gospel of Mark is no doubt due to the fact that both evangelists wrote their Gospels for Gentile Christians. Both evangelists also show a desire to depict the gospel events not in their exact chronological sequence, but to give the fullest and clearest possible idea of ​​Christ as the founder of the Messianic kingdom. Luke's deviations from Mark can be explained by his desire to give more space to those stories that Luke borrows from tradition, as well as the desire to group the facts reported to Luke by eyewitnesses so that his Gospel represents not only the image of Christ, His life and works, but also His teaching. about the Kingdom of God, expressed in His speeches and conversations both with His disciples and with His opponents.

In order to carry out systematically such an intention, ev. Luke places between the two, predominantly historical, parts of his Gospel - the first and third - the middle part (Luke 9:51-19:27), in which conversations and speeches predominate, and in this part he cites such speeches and events that, according to others The gospels took place at a different time. Some interpreters (for example, Meyer, Godet) see in this section an accurate chronological presentation of events, based on the words of Ev. Luke, who promised to state “everything in order” (καθ ’ ε ̔ ξη ̃ ς - 1:3). But such an assumption is hardly sound. Although Ev. Luke also says that he wants to write "in order", but this does not mean at all that he wants to give in his Gospel only a chronicle of the life of Christ. On the contrary, he made it his goal to give Theophilus, through an accurate presentation of the gospel history, complete confidence in the truth of those teachings in which he was instructed. General sequential order of events ev. Luke kept it: his gospel story begins with the birth of Christ and even with the birth of His Forerunner, then there is an image of the public ministry of Christ, and the moments of the revelation of Christ's teaching about Himself as the Messiah are indicated, and finally, the whole story ends with a presentation of the events of the last days of Christ's stay on the ground. There was no need to enumerate in sequential order everything that was accomplished by Christ from baptism to ascension, and there was no need - it was enough for the purpose that Luke had, to convey the events of the gospel history in a certain grouping. About this intention ev. Luke also speaks of the fact that most of the sections of the second part are interconnected not by exact chronological indications, but by simple transitional formulas: and it was (Luke 11:1; Luke 14:1), but it was (Luke 10:38; Luke 11:27 ), and behold (Lk 10:25), he said (Lk 12:54), etc. or in simple connectives: a, but (δε ̀ - Lk 11:29; Lk 12:10). These transitions were obviously made not in order to determine the time of events, but only their setting. It is also impossible not to point out that the evangelist here describes events that took place now in Samaria (Lk 9:52), then in Bethany, not far from Jerusalem (Lk 10:38), then again somewhere far from Jerusalem (Lk 13 :31), in Galilee - in a word, these are events of different times, and not only those that happened during the last journey of Christ to Jerusalem on the Passover of suffering Some interpreters, in order to keep the chronological order in this section, tried to find in it indications of two journeys of Christ to Jerusalem - the feast of renewal and the feast of the last Easter (Schleiermacher, Ohlshausen, Neander) or even three that John mentions in his Gospel ( Wieseler). But, apart from the fact that there is no definite allusion to various journeys, this passage in the Gospel of Luke clearly speaks against such an assumption, where it is definitely said that the evangelist wants to describe in this section only the last journey of the Lord to Jerusalem - on the Pascha of suffering. In the 9th ch. 51st Art. It says, “When the days of His taking away from the world drew near, He desired to go up to Jerusalem.” Explanation see in a sense. 9th ch. .

Finally, in the third section (Lk 19:28-24:53) Heb. Luke sometimes deviates from the chronological order of events in the interests of his grouping of facts (for example, he places Peter's denial before the trial of Christ by the high priest). Here again ev. Luke keeps the Gospel of Mark as the source of his narratives, supplementing his story with information drawn from another source unknown to us. So, Luke alone has stories about the publican Zacchaeus (Lk 19:1-10), about the dispute of the disciples during the celebration of the Eucharist (Lk 22:24-30), about the trial of Christ by Herod (Lk 23:4-12), about women mourning Christ during His procession to Golgotha ​​(Lk 23:27-31), a conversation with a thief on the cross (Lk 23:39-43), an appearance to Emmaus travelers (Lk 24:13-35) and some other messages representing a replenishment to the stories of ev. Mark. .

Gospel plan. In accordance with his intended goal - to provide a basis for faith in the teaching that has already been taught to Theophilus, ev. Luke planned the entire content of his Gospel in such a way that it really leads the reader to the conviction that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished the salvation of all mankind, that He fulfilled all the promises of the Old Testament about the Messiah as the Savior not of one Jewish people, but of all peoples. Naturally, in order to achieve his goal, the Evangelist Luke did not need to give his Gospel the appearance of a chronicle of gospel events, but rather, it was necessary to group all the events so that his narrative would make the desired impression on the reader.

The evangelist's plan is already evident in the introduction to the history of Christ's messianic ministry (chapters 1-3). In the story of the conception and birth of Christ, it is mentioned that an angel announced to the Blessed Virgin the birth of a Son, whom she would conceive by the power of the Holy Spirit and who therefore would be the Son of God, and in the flesh, the son of David, who would forever occupy the throne of his father, David. The birth of Christ, as the birth of the promised Redeemer, is announced through an angel to the shepherds. When Christ the Infant is brought to the temple, the inspired elder Simeon and the prophetess Anna testify to His high dignity. Jesus Himself, still a 12-year-old boy, already announces that He should be in the temple as in the house of His Father. When Christ is baptized in the Jordan, He receives a heavenly witness that He is the beloved Son of God, who received the fullness of the gifts of the Holy Spirit for His messianic ministry. Finally, His genealogy, given in Chapter 3, going back to Adam and God, testifies that He is the founder of a new humanity, born from God through the Holy Spirit.

Then, in the first part of the Gospel, an image is given of the messianic ministry of Christ, which is accomplished in the power of the Holy Spirit indwelling in Christ (4:1). By the power of the Holy Spirit, Christ triumphs over the devil in the wilderness (Luke 4:1-13), and this "power of the Spirit" in Galilee, and in Nazareth, His native city, declares Himself the Anointed One and Redeemer, about whom the prophets of the Old Testament foretold. Not meeting faith in Himself here, He reminds unbelieving His fellow citizens that God, even in the Old Testament, was preparing the acceptance of the prophets among the Gentiles (Luke 4:14-30).

After this, which had a predictive value for the future attitude towards Christ on the part of the Jews, the event follows a series of deeds performed by Christ in Capernaum and its environs: the healing of the demon-possessed by the power of the word of Christ in the synagogue, the healing of Simon's mother-in-law and other sick and demon-possessed who were brought and brought to Christ (Luke 4:31-44), miraculous fishing, healing of a leper. All this is depicted as events that led to the spread of the rumor about Christ and the arrival to Christ of whole masses of people who came to listen to the teaching of Christ and brought their sick with them in the hope that Christ would heal them (Luke 5:1-16).

This is followed by a group of incidents that caused opposition to Christ from the Pharisees and scribes: the forgiveness of the sins of the healed paralytic (Lk 5:17-26), the announcement at the publican's dinner that Christ did not come to save the righteous, but sinners (Lk 5:27-32 ), the justification of the disciples of Christ in non-observance of the fasts, based on the fact that the Bridegroom-Messiah is with them (Luke 5:33-39), and in violating the Sabbath, based on the fact that Christ is the lord of the Sabbath, and, moreover, confirmed by a miracle, which On the Sabbath Christ did it over the withered hand (Luke 6:1-11). But while these deeds and statements of Christ irritated his opponents to the point that they began to think about how to take Him, He chose from among His disciples 12 to be apostles (Luke 6:12-16), announced from the mountain in the ears of all the people who followed Him, the main provisions on which the Kingdom of God founded by Him should be built (Luke 6:17-49), and, after descending from the mountain, not only fulfilled the request of the Gentile centurion for the healing of his servant, because the centurion showed such faith in Christ, which Christ did not find in Israel (Lk 7:1-10), but also resurrected the son of the widow of Nain, after which he was glorified by all the people accompanying the funeral procession as a prophet sent by God to the chosen people (Lk 7:11-17 ).

The embassy from John the Baptist to Christ with the question of whether He is the Messiah prompted Christ to point to His deeds as evidence of His Messianic dignity and together reproach the people for not trusting John the Baptist and Him, Christ. At the same time, Christ makes a distinction between those listeners who yearn to hear from Him an indication of the way to salvation, and between those who are a huge mass and who do not believe in Him (Luke 7:18-35). The subsequent sections, in accordance with this intention of the evangelist to show the difference between the Jews who listened to Christ, report a number of such facts that illustrate such a division in the people and together Christ's attitude to the people, to its different parts, in accordance with their attitude to Christ, namely: the anointing of Christ a repentant sinner and the behavior of a Pharisee (Lk 7:36-50), a mention of the women of Galilee who served Christ with their property (Lk 8:1-3), a parable about the various qualities of the field on which sowing is carried out, indicating the bitterness of the people (Lk 8: 4-18), the attitude of Christ towards His relatives (Luke 8:19-21), the crossing into the country of Gadara, at which the disciples showed little faith, and the healing of the demoniac, and the contrast between the stupid indifference shown by the Gadarins to the miracle performed by Christ, and the gratitude of the healed (Lk 8:22-39), the healing of the bleeding woman and the resurrection of the daughter of Jairus, because both the woman and Jairus showed their faith in Christ (Lk 8:40-56). This is followed by the events told in chapter 9, which were intended to strengthen the disciples of Christ in the faith: supplying the disciples with the power to cast out and heal the sick, along with instructions on how they should act during their preaching journey (Luke 9: 1- 6), and it is indicated, as Tetrarch Herod understood the activity of Jesus (Lk 9: 7-9), the feeding of five thousand, by which Christ showed the apostles who returned from the journey His power to help in every need (Lk 9: 10-17), the question of Christ , for whom His people consider and for whom the disciples, and the confession of Peter on behalf of all the apostles is given: “You are the Christ of God”, and then the prediction by Christ of His rejection by the representatives of the people and His death and resurrection, as well as an exhortation addressed to the disciples, so that they imitated Him in self-sacrifice, for which He will reward them at His second glorious coming (Luke 9:18-27), the transfiguration of Christ, which allowed His disciples to penetrate with their eyes into His future glorification (Luke 9:28-36), the healing of the possessed a lunatic lad, whom the disciples of Christ could not heal, due to the weakness of their faith, which had as its result an enthusiastic glorification by the people of God. At the same time, however, Christ once again pointed out to His disciples the fate awaiting Him, and they turned out to be incomprehensible in relation to such a clear statement made by Christ (Luke 9:37-45).

This inability of the disciples, despite their confession of the Messiahship of Christ, to understand His prophecy about His death and resurrection, had its basis in the fact that they were still in those ideas about the Kingdom of the Messiah, which were formed among the Jewish scribes, who understood the Messianic Kingdom as an earthly kingdom, political, and at the same time testified to how weak their knowledge of the nature of the Kingdom of God and its spiritual blessings was. Therefore, according to Ev. Luke, Christ devoted the rest of the time until His solemn entrance into Jerusalem to teaching His disciples precisely these most important truths about the nature of the Kingdom of God, about its form and distribution (second part), about what is needed to achieve eternal life, and warnings - not to get carried away the teachings of the Pharisees and the views of His enemies, whom He will eventually come to judge as the King of this Kingdom of God (Luke 9:51-19:27).

Finally, in the third part, the evangelist shows how Christ, by His sufferings, death and resurrection, proved that He is indeed the promised Savior and King of the Kingdom of God anointed by the Holy Spirit. Depicting the solemn entry of the Lord into Jerusalem, the evangelist Luke speaks not only of the rapture of the people - which other evangelists also report, but also that Christ announced His judgment on the city that was rebellious to Him (Luke 19:28-44) and then, according to with Mark and Matthew, about how He shamed His enemies in the temple (Luke 20:1-47), and then, pointing out the superiority of the alms to the temple of the poor widow over the contributions of the rich, He foreshadowed before his disciples the fate of Jerusalem and His followers ( Luke 21:1-36).

In the description of the suffering and death of Christ (chap. 22 and 23), it is exposed that Judas was induced by Satan to betray Christ (Luke 22:3), and then Christ’s confidence is put forward that He will eat the supper with His disciples in the Kingdom of God and that the Passover of the Old Testament must henceforth be replaced by the Eucharist established by Him (Luke 22:15-23). The evangelist also mentions that Christ at the Last Supper, calling the disciples to service, and not to domination, nevertheless promised them dominion in His Kingdom (Luke 22:24-30). This is followed by a story about three moments of the last hours of Christ: the promise of Christ to pray for Peter, given in view of his imminent fall (Lk 22:31-34), the call of the disciples in the struggle against temptations (Lk 22:35-38), and the prayer of Christ in Gethsemane, in which He was strengthened by an angel from heaven (Luke 22:39-46). Then the evangelist speaks about the taking of Christ and the healing by Christ of the wounded servant of Peter (51) and about the denunciation by Him of the high priests who came with the soldiers (53). All these particulars clearly show that Christ went to suffering and death voluntarily, in the consciousness of their necessity in order for the salvation of mankind to be accomplished.

In depicting the very sufferings of Christ, the evangelist Luke puts forward Peter's denial as evidence that even during His own sufferings, Christ pitied His weak disciple (Luke 22:54-62). Then follows a description of the great sufferings of Christ in the following three lines: 1) the denial of the high dignity of Christ, partly by the soldiers who mocked Christ in the court of the high priest (Lk 22:63-65), but mainly by the members of the Sanhedrin (Lk 22:66-71), 2 ) the recognition of Christ as a dreamer at the trial of Pilate and Herod (Lk 23:1-12) and 3) the preference of the people for Christ Barabbas the robber and the condemnation of Christ to death by crucifixion (Lk 23:13-25).

After depicting the depth of Christ's suffering, the evangelist notes such features from the circumstances of this suffering, which clearly testified that Christ, even in His sufferings, nevertheless remained the King of the Kingdom of God. The Evangelist reports that the Condemned One 1) as a judge addressed the women weeping over Him (Lk 23:26-31) and asked the Father for his enemies who committed a crime against Him without consciousness (Lk 23:32-34), 2) gave a place in paradise to the repentant thief, as having the right to do so (Lk 23:35-43), 3) realized that, dying, He betrays His own spirit to the Father (Lk 23:44-46), 4) was recognized as a righteous man by the centurion and aroused repentance among the people by his death (Lk 23:47-48) and 5) was honored with a particularly solemn burial (Lk 23:49-56). Finally, in the history of the resurrection of Christ, the evangelist exposes such events that clearly proved the greatness of Christ and served to explain the work of salvation accomplished by Him. This is precisely: the testimony of the angels that Christ overcame death, according to His predictions about this (Luke 24:1-12), then the appearance of Christ himself to the Emmaus travelers, to whom Christ showed from Scripture the necessity of His suffering in order for Him to enter into glory. His (Lk 24:13-35), the appearance of Christ to all the apostles, to whom He also explained the prophecies that spoke about Him, and instructed in His name to preach the message of the forgiveness of sins to all the peoples of the earth, while promising the apostles to send down the power of the Holy Spirit (Lk 24:36-49). Finally, having depicted briefly the ascension of Christ into heaven (Luke 24:50-53), ev. Luke ended his Gospel with this, which really was the affirmation of everything taught to Theophilus and other Christians from the Gentiles, the Christian teaching: Christ is really depicted here as the promised Messiah, as the Son of God and the King of the Kingdom of God.

Sources and aids in the study of the Gospel of Luke. Of the patristic interpretations of the Gospel of Luke, the most detailed are the writings of Blessed. Theophylact and Euphemia Zygaben. Of our Russian commentators, Bishop Michael (The Explanatory Gospel) should be placed in the first place, then D.P. Kaz. spirit. Academy of M. Bogoslovsky, who compiled the books: 1) The childhood of our Lord Jesus Christ and His forerunner, according to the Gospels of St. Apostles Matthew and Luke. Kazan, 1893; and 2) The public ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ according to the sayings of the holy evangelists. Issue. first. Kazan, 1908.

Of the writings on the Gospel of Luke, we have only the thesis of Fr. Polotebnova: The Holy Gospel of Luke. Orthodox critical-exegetical study against F. H. Baur. Moscow, 1873.

Of the foreign commentaries, we mention interpretations: Keil K. Fr. 1879 (in German), Meyer, revised by B. Weiss 1885 (in German), Jog. Weiss "The Writings of N. Head." 2nd ed. 1907 (in German); Trench. Interpretation of the parables of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1888 (in Russian) and Miracles of our Lord Jesus Christ (1883 in Russian, lang.); and Mercks. The four canonical gospels according to their oldest known text. Part 2, 2nd half of 1905 (in German).

The following works are also cited: Geiki. The Life and Teachings of Christ. Per. St. M. Fiveysky, 1894; Edersheim. The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah. Per. St. M. Fiveysky. T. 1. 1900. Reville A. Jesus the Nazarene. Per. Zelinsky, vol. 1-2, 1909; and some spiritual journal articles.

Gospel

The word "Gospel" (τὸ εὐαγγέλιον) in classical Greek was used to designate: a) the reward given to the messenger of joy (τῷ εὐαγγέλῳ), b) the sacrifice sacrificed on the occasion of receiving some kind of good news or a holiday made on the same occasion and c) the good news itself. In the New Testament, this expression means:

a) the good news that Christ accomplished the reconciliation of people with God and brought us the greatest blessings - mainly establishing the Kingdom of God on earth ( Matt. 4:23),

b) the teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ, preached by Himself and His apostles about Him as the King of this Kingdom, the Messiah and the Son of God ( Rome. 1:1, 15:16 ; 2 Cor. 11:7; 1 Thess. 2:8) or the identity of the preacher ( Rome. 2:16).

For quite a long time, stories about the life of the Lord Jesus Christ were transmitted only orally. The Lord Himself left no record of His words and deeds. In the same way, the 12 apostles were not born writers: they were “unlearned and simple people” ( Acts. 4:13), although they are literate. Among the Christians of the apostolic time there were also very few "wise according to the flesh, strong" and "noble" ( 1 Cor. 1:26), and for the majority of believers, oral stories about Christ were much more important than written ones. Thus the apostles and preachers or evangelists "transmitted" (παραδιδόναι) tales of the deeds and speeches of Christ, while the faithful "received" (παραλαμβάνειν), but, of course, not mechanically, only by memory, as can be said of the students of rabbinic schools, but whole soul, as if something living and giving life. But soon this period of oral tradition was to end. On the one hand, Christians must have felt the need for a written presentation of the Gospel in their disputes with the Jews, who, as you know, denied the reality of the miracles of Christ and even claimed that Christ did not declare Himself the Messiah. It was necessary to show the Jews that Christians have authentic stories about Christ of those persons who were either among His apostles, or who were in close communion with eyewitnesses of Christ's deeds. On the other hand, the need for a written presentation of the history of Christ began to be felt because the generation of the first disciples was gradually dying out and the ranks of direct witnesses of the miracles of Christ were thinning out. Therefore, it was necessary to fix in writing individual sayings of the Lord and His whole speeches, as well as the stories about Him of the apostles. It was then that separate records of what was reported in the oral tradition about Christ began to appear here and there. Most carefully they wrote down the words of Christ, which contained the rules of the Christian life, and were much freer in the transfer of various events from the life of Christ, retaining only their general impression. Thus, one thing in these records, due to its originality, was transmitted everywhere in the same way, while the other was modified. These initial notes did not think about the completeness of the narrative. Even our Gospels, as can be seen from the conclusion of the Gospel of John ( In. 21:25), did not intend to report all the words and deeds of Christ. This is evident, among other things, from what is not included in them, for example, such a saying of Christ: “it is more blessed to give than to receive” ( Acts. 20:35). The Evangelist Luke reports such records, saying that many before him had already begun to compose narratives about the life of Christ, but that they did not have the proper fullness and that therefore they did not give sufficient “confirmation” in the faith ( OK. 1:1-4).

Evidently, our canonical gospels arose from the same motives. The period of their appearance can be determined at about thirty years - from 60 to 90 (the last was the Gospel of John). The first three gospels are usually called synoptic in biblical science, because they depict the life of Christ in such a way that their three narratives can be easily viewed in one and combined into one whole narrative (forecasters - from Greek - looking together). They began to be called gospels each separately, perhaps as early as the end of the 1st century, but from church writing we have information that such a name was given to the entire composition of the gospels only in the second half of the 2nd century. As for the names: “The Gospel of Matthew”, “The Gospel of Mark”, etc., then these very ancient names from Greek should be translated as follows: “The Gospel according to Matthew”, “The Gospel according to Mark” (κατὰ Ματθαῖον, κατὰ Μᾶρκον). By this, the Church wanted to say that in all the Gospels there is a single Christian gospel about Christ the Savior, but according to the images of different writers: one image belongs to Matthew, the other to Mark, etc.

four gospel

Thus the ancient Church looked upon the depiction of the life of Christ in our four gospels, not as different gospels or narratives, but as one gospel, one book in four forms. That is why in the Church the name of the Four Gospels was established behind our Gospels. Saint Irenaeus called them "the fourfold Gospel" (τετράμορφον τὸ εὐαγγέλιον - see Irenaeus Lugdunensis, Adversus haereses liber 3, ed. A. Rousseau and L. Doutreleaü Irenée Lyon. Contre les hérésies, livre 3, vol 2, Paris, 1974, 11, 11).

The Fathers of the Church dwell on the question: why did the Church accept not one gospel, but four? So St. John Chrysostom says: “Is it really impossible for one evangelist to write everything that is needed. Of course, he could, but when four people wrote, they did not write at the same time, not in the same place, without communicating or conspiring among themselves, and for all that they wrote in such a way that everything seemed to be pronounced by one mouth, then this is the strongest proof of the truth. You will say: "However, the opposite happened, for the four Gospels are often convicted in disagreement." This is the very sign of truth. For if the Gospels were exactly in agreement with each other in everything, even regarding the very words, then none of the enemies would believe that the Gospels were not written by ordinary mutual agreement. Now, a slight disagreement between them frees them from all suspicion. For what they say differently about time or place does not in the least impair the truth of their narration. In the main thing, which is the foundation of our life and the essence of preaching, not one of them disagrees with the other in anything and nowhere - that God became a man, worked miracles, was crucified, resurrected, ascended into heaven. ("Conversations on the Gospel of Matthew", 1).

Saint Irenaeus also finds a special symbolic meaning in the quaternary number of our Gospels. “Since there are four parts of the world in which we live, and since the Church is scattered throughout the earth and has its affirmation in the Gospel, it was necessary for her to have four pillars, from everywhere emanating incorruption and reviving the human race. The all-arranging Word, seated on the Cherubim, gave us the Gospel in four forms, but imbued with one spirit. For David also, praying for His appearance, says: "Seated on the Cherubim, reveal Yourself" ( Ps. 79:2). But the Cherubim (in the vision of the prophet Ezekiel and the Apocalypse) have four faces, and their faces are images of the activity of the Son of God. Saint Irenaeus finds it possible to attach the symbol of a lion to the Gospel of John, since this Gospel depicts Christ as the eternal King, and the lion is the king in the animal world; to the Gospel of Luke - the symbol of the calf, since Luke begins his Gospel with the image of the priestly service of Zechariah, who slaughtered the calves; to the Gospel of Matthew - a symbol of a person, since this Gospel mainly depicts the human birth of Christ, and, finally, to the Gospel of Mark - a symbol of an eagle, because Mark begins his Gospel with a mention of the prophets, to whom the Holy Spirit flew, like an eagle on wings "(Irenaeus Lugdunensis, Adversus haereses, liber 3, 11, 11-22). In other Church Fathers, the symbols of the lion and calf are moved and the first is given to Mark, and the second to John. Starting from the 5th c. in this form, the symbols of the evangelists began to join the images of the four evangelists in church painting.

Reciprocity of the Gospels

Each of the four Gospels has its own characteristics, and most of all - the Gospel of John. But the first three, as already mentioned above, have extremely much in common with each other, and this similarity involuntarily catches the eye even with a cursory reading of them. Let us first of all speak of the similarity of the Synoptic Gospels and the causes of this phenomenon.

Even Eusebius of Caesarea in his "canons" divided the Gospel of Matthew into 355 parts and noted that all three forecasters have 111 of them. In recent times, exegetes have developed an even more precise numerical formula for determining the similarity of the Gospels and calculated that the total number of verses common to all weather forecasters goes up to 350. In Matthew, then, 350 verses are peculiar only to him, in Mark there are 68 such verses, in Luke - 541. The similarities are mainly seen in the transmission of the sayings of Christ, and the differences - in the narrative part. When Matthew and Luke literally converge in their Gospels, Mark always agrees with them. The similarity between Luke and Mark is much closer than between Luke and Matthew (Lopukhin - in the Orthodox Theological Encyclopedia. T. V. C. 173). It is also remarkable that some passages of all three evangelists go in the same sequence, for example, the temptation and speech in Galilee, the calling of Matthew and the conversation about fasting, the plucking of ears and the healing of the withered hand, the calming of the storm and the healing of the demoniac of Gadarene, etc. The similarity sometimes extends even to the construction of sentences and expressions (for example, in the citation of the prophecy Mal. 3:1).

As for the differences observed among weather forecasters, there are quite a few of them. Others are reported only by two evangelists, others even by one. So, only Matthew and Luke cite the conversation on the mount of the Lord Jesus Christ, tell the story of the birth and the first years of Christ's life. One Luke speaks of the birth of John the Baptist. Other things one evangelist conveys in a more abbreviated form than another, or in a different connection than another. The details of the events in each Gospel are different, as well as the expressions.

This phenomenon of similarity and difference in the Synoptic Gospels has long attracted the attention of interpreters of Scripture, and various assumptions have long been put forward to explain this fact. More correct is the opinion that our three evangelists used a common oral source for their narrative of the life of Christ. At that time, evangelists or preachers about Christ went everywhere preaching and repeating in different places in a more or less extensive form, what was considered necessary to offer those who entered the Church. In this way a well-known definite type was formed oral gospel, and this is the type we have in writing in our synoptic gospels. Of course, at the same time, depending on the goal that this or that evangelist had, his gospel took on some special features, only characteristic of his work. At the same time, one cannot rule out the possibility that an older gospel might have been known to the evangelist who wrote later. At the same time, the difference between synoptics should be explained by the different goals that each of them had in mind when writing his Gospel.

As we have already said, the synoptic gospels are very different from the gospel of John the Theologian. Thus they depict almost exclusively the activity of Christ in Galilee, while the apostle John depicts mainly the sojourn of Christ in Judea. In regard to content, the synoptic gospels also differ considerably from the gospel of John. They give, so to speak, an image of more outer life, deeds and teachings of Christ and from the speeches of Christ only those that were accessible to the understanding of the whole people are cited. John, on the contrary, omits a lot of the activities of Christ, for example, he cites only six miracles of Christ, but those speeches and miracles that he cites have a special deep meaning and extreme importance about the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Finally, while the synoptics portray Christ primarily as the founder of the kingdom of God and therefore direct their readers' attention to the kingdom he founded, John draws our attention to the central point of this kingdom, from which life flows along the peripheries of the kingdom, i.e. on the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, whom John depicts as the Only Begotten Son of God and as the Light for all mankind. That is why even the ancient interpreters called the Gospel of John predominantly spiritual (πνευματικόν), in contrast to synoptic ones, as depicting a predominantly human side in the face of Christ (εὐαγγέλιον σωματικόν), i.e. bodily gospel.

However, it must be said that weather forecasters also have passages that indicate that, as weather forecasters, the activity of Christ in Judea was known ( Matt. 23:37, 27:57 ; OK. 10:38-42), so John has indications of the continuous activity of Christ in Galilee. In the same way, weather forecasters convey such sayings of Christ, which testify to His divine dignity ( Matt. 11:27), and John, for his part, also in places depicts Christ as a true man ( In. 2 etc.; John 8 and etc.). Therefore, one cannot speak of any contradiction between the synoptics and John in the depiction of the face and deed of Christ.

Reliability of the Gospels

Although criticism has long been expressed against the authenticity of the Gospels, and recently these attacks of criticism have become especially intensified (the theory of myths, especially the theory of Drews, who does not at all recognize the existence of Christ), however, all objections of criticism are so insignificant that they are shattered at the slightest collision with Christian apologetics. . Here, however, we will not cite the objections of negative criticism and analyze these objections: this will be done when interpreting the text of the Gospels itself. We will only speak about the main general grounds on which we recognize the Gospels as completely reliable documents. This is, firstly, the existence of the tradition of eyewitnesses, of whom many survived until the era when our Gospels appeared. Why should we refuse to trust these sources of our gospels? Could they have made up everything that is in our gospels? No, all the Gospels are purely historical. Secondly, it is incomprehensible why the Christian consciousness would want - so the mythical theory asserts - to crown the head of a simple rabbi Jesus with the crown of the Messiah and the Son of God? Why, for example, is it not said about the Baptist that he performed miracles? Obviously because he did not create them. And from this it follows that if Christ is said to be the Great Wonderworker, then it means that He really was like that. And why could one deny the authenticity of the miracles of Christ, since the highest miracle - His Resurrection - is witnessed like no other event ancient history(cm. 1 Cor. 15)?

Bibliography foreign works according to the four gospels

Bengel J. Al. Gnomon Novi Testamentï in quo ex nativa verborum VI simplicitas, profunditas, concinnitas, salubritas sensuum coelestium indicatur. Berolini, 1860.

Blass, Gram. - Blass F. Grammatik des neutestamentlichen Griechisch. Göttingen, 1911.

Westcott - The New Testament in Original Greek the text rev. by Brooke Foss Westcott. New York, 1882.

B. Weiss - Wikiwand Weiss B. Die Evangelien des Markus und Lukas. Göttingen, 1901.

Yog. Weiss (1907) - Die Schriften des Neuen Testaments, von Otto Baumgarten; Wilhelm Bousset. Hrsg. von Johannes Weis_s, Bd. 1: Die drei alteren Evangelien. Die Apostelgeschichte, Matthaeus Apostolus; Marcus Evangelista; Lucas Evangelista. . 2. Aufl. Göttingen, 1907.

Godet - Godet F. Commentar zu dem Evangelium des Johannes. Hanover, 1903.

Name De Wette W.M.L. Kurze Erklärung des Evangeliums Matthäi / Kurzgefasstes exegetisches Handbuch zum Neuen Testament, Band 1, Teil 1. Leipzig, 1857.

Keil (1879) - Keil C.F. Commentar über die Evangelien des Markus und Lukas. Leipzig, 1879.

Keil (1881) - Keil C.F. Commentar über das Evangelium des Johannes. Leipzig, 1881.

Klostermann A. Das Markusevangelium nach seinem Quellenwerthe für die evangelische Geschichte. Göttingen, 1867.

Cornelius a Lapide - Cornelius a Lapide. In SS Matthaeum et Marcum / Commentaria in scripturam sacram, t. 15. Parisiis, 1857.

Lagrange M.-J. Études bibliques: Evangile selon St. Marc. Paris, 1911.

Lange J.P. Das Evangelium nach Matthäus. Bielefeld, 1861.

Loisy (1903) - Loisy A.F. Le quatrième evangile. Paris, 1903.

Loisy (1907-1908) - Loisy A.F. Les evangeles synoptiques, 1-2. : Ceffonds, pres Montier-en-Der, 1907-1908.

Luthardt Ch.E. Das johanneische Evangelium nach seiner Eigenthümlichkeit geschildert und erklärt. Nürnberg, 1876.

Meyer (1864) - Meyer H.A.W. Kritisch exegetisches Commentar über das Neue Testament, Abteilung 1, Hälfte 1: Handbuch über das Evangelium des Matthäus. Göttingen, 1864.

Meyer (1885) - Kritisch-exegetischer Commentar über das Neue Testament hrsg. von Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer, Abteilung 1, Hälfte 2: Bernhard Weiss B. Kritisch exegetisches Handbuch über die Evangelien des Markus und Lukas. Göttingen, 1885. Meyer (1902) - Meyer H.A.W. Das Johannes-Evangelium 9. Auflage, bearbeitet von B. Weiss. Göttingen, 1902.

Merckx (1902) - Merx A. Erläuterung: Matthaeus / Die vier kanonischen Evangelien nach ihrem ältesten bekannten Texte, Teil 2, Hälfte 1. Berlin, 1902.

Merckx (1905) - Merx A. Erläuterung: Markus und Lukas / Die vier kanonischen Evangelien nach ihrem ältesten bekannten Texte. Teil 2, Hälfte 2. Berlin, 1905.

Morison J. A practical commentary on the Gospel according to St. Morison Matthew. London, 1902.

Stanton - Wikiwand Stanton V.H. The Synoptic Gospels / The Gospels as historical documents, Part 2. Cambridge, 1903. Toluc (1856) - Tholuck A. Die Bergpredigt. Gotha, 1856.

Tolyuk (1857) - Tholuck A. Commentar zum Evangelium Johannis. Gotha, 1857.

Heitmüller - see Jog. Weiss (1907).

Holtzmann (1901) - Holtzmann H.J. Die Synoptiker. Tubingen, 1901.

Holtzmann (1908) - Holtzmann H.J. Evangelium, Briefe und Offenbarung des Johannes / Hand-Commentar zum Neuen Testament bearbeitet von H. J. Holtzmann, R. A. Lipsius etc. bd. 4. Freiburg im Breisgau, 1908.

Zahn (1905) - Zahn Th. Das Evangelium des Matthäus / Commentar zum Neuen Testament, Teil 1. Leipzig, 1905.

Zahn (1908) - Zahn Th. Das Evangelium des Johannes ausgelegt / Commentar zum Neuen Testament, Teil 4. Leipzig, 1908.

Schanz (1881) - Schanz P. Commentar über das Evangelium des heiligen Marcus. Freiburg im Breisgau, 1881.

Schanz (1885) - Schanz P. Commentar über das Evangelium des heiligen Johannes. Tubingen, 1885.

Schlatter - Schlatter A. Das Evangelium des Johannes: ausgelegt fur Bibelleser. Stuttgart, 1903.

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Edersheim (1901) - Edersheim A. The life and times of Jesus the Messiah. 2 Vols. London, 1901.

Ellen - Allen W.C. A critical and exegetical commentary of the Gospel according to st. Matthew. Edinburgh, 1907.

Alford - Alford N. The Greek Testament in four volumes, vol. 1. London, 1863.

Comments on Chapter 17

INTRODUCTION TO THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

A BEAUTIFUL BOOK AND ITS AUTHOR

The Gospel of Luke has been called the most delightful book in the world. When one day an American asked Denney to advise him to read one of the biographies of Jesus Christ, he replied: "Have you tried reading the Gospel of Luke?" According to legend, Luke was a skilled artist. In one Spanish cathedral, a portrait of the Virgin Mary, allegedly painted by Luke, has survived to this day. As for the Gospel, many researchers believe that it is the best biography of Jesus Christ ever compiled. According to tradition, it has always been believed that Luke was the author, and we have every reason to support this point of view. In the ancient world, books were usually attributed to famous people and nobody contradicted it. But Luke never belonged to the prominent figures of the early Christian Church. Therefore, it would never have occurred to anyone to attribute this Gospel to him if he had not actually written it.

Luke came from Gentiles. Of all the writers of the New Testament, only he was not a Jew. He is a doctor by profession (Col. 4:14), and perhaps this explains the sympathy he inspires. They say that a priest sees the good in people, a lawyer sees the bad, and a doctor sees them for who they are. Luke saw people and loved them.

The book was written for Theophilus. Luke calls him "Venerable Theophilus". Such treatment was applied only to high-ranking officials in the Roman government. There is no doubt that Luke wrote this book to tell the serious and interested person more about Jesus Christ. And he succeeded in this, painting Theophilus a picture which no doubt aroused his great interest in Jesus, of whom he had heard before.

SYMBOLS OF THE EVANGELISTS

Each of the four gospels was written from a particular angle. Evangelists are often depicted on church stained glass windows, usually each with their own symbol. These symbols do change, but the following are the most typical:

Symbol brand is Human. The Gospel of Mark is the simplest, most concise of all the Gospels. It was well said about him that his excellent feature is realism. It most closely matches its purpose - the description of the earthly life of Jesus Christ.

Symbol Matthew is a lion. Matthew was a Jew, and wrote for the Jews: he saw in Jesus the Messiah, a lion "from the tribe of Judah," whose coming was predicted by all the prophets.

Symbol John is eagle. The eagle can fly higher than all other birds. They say that of all God's creations, only an eagle can look at the sun without squinting. The gospel of John is a theological gospel; the flight of his thoughts is higher than all other Gospels. Philosophers draw topics from it, discuss them all their lives, but resolve them only in eternity.

Symbol Luke is Taurus. The calf is meant to be slaughtered, and Luke saw Jesus as a sacrifice for the whole world. In the Gospel of Luke, moreover, all barriers are overcome, and Jesus becomes accessible to both Jews and sinners. He is the savior of the world. With that in mind, let's look at the features of this gospel.

LUCA IS A DEMANDING HISTORIAN

The gospel of Luke is primarily the result of painstaking work. His Greek is exquisite. The first four verses are written in the finest Greek in the entire New Testament. In them, Luke states that his gospel was written "by careful study." He had great opportunities and reliable sources for this. As Paul's trusted companion, he must have been well aware of all the major details of the early Christian Church, and they no doubt told him everything they knew. For two years he was together with Paul in prison in Caesarea. In those long days, he certainly had many opportunities to study and explore everything. And he did it thoroughly.

An example of Luke's thoroughness is the dating of the appearance of John the Baptist. At the same time, he refers, no less, to six contemporaries. "In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar (1), when Pontius Pilate ruled in Judea (2), Herod was tetrarch in Galilee (3), Philip, his brother, tetrarch in Iturea and the Trachotnite region (4), and Lysanius tetrarch in Abilineus (5), under the high priests Anna and Caiaphas (6), there was a word of God to John, the son of Zechariah, in the wilderness " (Onion. 3.1.2). Undoubtedly, we are dealing with a diligent author who will adhere to the greatest possible accuracy of presentation.

GOSPEL FOR THE GENTIANS

Luke primarily wrote to Gentile Christians. Theophilus, like Luke himself, was from the pagans; and there is nothing in his Gospel that the pagan did not realize and would not understand, a) As we can see, Luke begins his dating Roman emperor and Roman governor, that is, the Roman dating style comes first, b) Unlike Matthew, Luke is less interested in depicting the life of Jesus in the sense of the incarnation of Jewish prophecies, c) He rarely quotes the Old Testament, d) Luke usually uses them instead of Hebrew words Greek translations, so that every Greek could understand the content of what was written. Simon Kananite becomes Simon the Zealot (cf. Matt. 10,4and Luke. 5.15). He calls Golgotha ​​not a Hebrew word, but a Greek one - Kraniev mountain, the meaning of these words is the same - the Place of execution. He never uses the Hebrew word for Jesus, rabbi, but the Greek word for teacher. When Luke cites the genealogy of Jesus, he traces it not to Abraham, the founder of the people of Israel, as Matthew does, but to Adam, the forefather of mankind (cf. Matt. 1,2; Onion. 3,38).

That is why the Gospel of Luke is the easiest to read. Luke did not write for the Jews, but for people like us.

GOSPEL OF PRAYER

The Gospel of Luke places particular emphasis on prayer. More than any other, Luke shows us Jesus immersed in prayer before important events in His life. Jesus prays during His baptism (Luke 3, 21) before the first encounter with the Pharisees (Luke 5, 16), before the calling of the twelve apostles (Luke 6, 12); before asking the disciples who they think he is (Onion. 9:18-20); and before predicting his own death and resurrection (9:22); during the transformation (9.29); and on the cross (23:46). Only Luke tells us that Jesus prayed for Peter during his trial (22:32). Only Luke gives a parable-prayer about a friend who comes at midnight (11:5-13) and a parable about an unrighteous judge (Onion. 18:1-8). For Luke, prayer was always an open door to God, and the most precious thing in the whole world.

GOSPEL WOMEN

The woman occupied a secondary position in Palestine. In the morning, the Jew thanked God that He did not create him "a heathen, a slave or a woman." But Luke gives women a special place. The story of the birth of Jesus is told from the point of view of the Virgin Mary. It is in Luke that we read about Elizabeth, about Anna, about the widow in Nain, about the woman who anointed the feet of Jesus in the house of Simon the Pharisee. Luke gives us vivid portraits of Martha, Mary and Mary Magdalene. It is very probable that Luke was a native of Macedonia, where a woman occupied a freer position than anywhere else.

GOSPEL OF GLOCATION

In the Gospel of Luke, glorifications of the Lord occur more frequently than in any other part of the New Testament. This praise reaches its apogee in the three great hymns sung by all generations of Christians - in the hymn to Mary (1:46-55), in the blessing of Zechariah (1:68-79); and in the prophecy of Simeon (2:29-32). The gospel of Luke spreads rainbow light, as if the radiance of heaven would illuminate the earthly vale.

GOSPEL FOR ALL

But the most important thing about the Gospel of Luke is that it is a gospel for all. It overcomes all obstacles, Jesus Christ appeared to all people, without exception.

a) The kingdom of God is not closed to the Samaritans (Onion. 9, 51-56). Only in Luke do we find the parable of the Good Samaritan (10:30-36). And that one leper who returned to give thanks to Jesus Christ for healing was a Samaritan (Onion. 17:11-19). John gives a proverb that the Jews do not associate with the Samaritans (John. 4.9). Luke, on the other hand, does not prevent anyone from accessing God.

b) Luke shows that Jesus speaks with approval of Gentiles who would be considered unclean by orthodox Jews. In him, Jesus cites the widow at Zarephath of Sidon and Naaman the Syrian as exemplary examples (4:25-27). Jesus praises the Roman centurion for his great faith (7:9). Luke cites the great words of Jesus: "And they shall come from the east and the west, and the north and the south, and shall lie down in the kingdom of God" (13:29).

c) Luke pays great attention to the poor. When Mary offers a sacrifice for cleansing, it is the sacrifice of the poor (2:24). The pinnacle of the answer to John the Baptist is the words "the poor preach the gospel" (7:29). Only Luke cites the parable of the rich man and the poor Lazarus (16:19-31). And in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught, "Blessed are the poor in spirit." (Matt. 5:3; Luke 6, 20). The gospel of Luke is also called the gospel of the destitute. Luke's heart is with every person whose life is unsuccessful.

d) Luke portrays Jesus better than others as a friend of exiles and sinners. Only he speaks of a woman who anointed his feet with ointment, shed tears on them and wiped them with her hair in the house of Simon the Pharisee (7:36-50); about Zacchaeus the head of publicans (19:1-10); about the penitent thief (23:43); and only Luke cites the immortal parable of the prodigal son and loving father(15:11-32). When Jesus sent his disciples to preach, Matthew indicates that Jesus told them not to go to the Samaritans or the Gentiles (Mat. 10.5); Luke doesn't say anything about it. The authors of all four Gospels, reporting on the preaching of John the Baptist, quote from Is. 40: "Prepare the way of the Lord; make straight the paths of our God"; but only Luke brings the quotation to its triumphant end: "And all flesh shall see the salvation of God." Is. 40,3-5; Mat. 3,3; Mar. 1,3; John. 1,23; Onion. 3.4. 6). Of the gospel writers, Luke teaches most emphatically that the love of God is infinite.

BEAUTIFUL BOOK

When studying the Gospel of Luke, one should pay attention to these features. Somehow, of all the authors of the Gospels, I would most like to meet and talk with Luke, because this pagan doctor, who surprisingly felt the boundlessness of God's love, was in all likelihood a man of a beautiful soul. About the boundless mercy and incomprehensible love of the Lord, Frederic Faber wrote:

God's mercy is infinite

Like a boundless ocean.

In justice unchanged

Deliverance is given.

Do not comprehend the love of the Lord

To our feeble minds

We find only at His feet

Peace to tormented hearts.

The Gospel of Luke clearly shows the veracity of this.

LAWS OF CHRISTIAN LIFE (Luke 17:1-10)

This passage falls into four separate parts.

1. In verses 1 and 2, Jesus condemns people who accustom others to sin. The Russian translation of the Bible speaks of temptations which corresponds to the Greek word scandalon and Russian scandal. It has two meanings:

a) It originally meant bait in a trap.

b) Later it came to mean any obstacle in the way of a person in order to lure him. Jesus says that it would be impossible to arrange the world in such a way that there are no temptations in it, but woe to the person who teaches another to sin, or deprives him of innocence.

Every person meets with temptation, no one escapes the impulse to evil. Kennedy Williamson talks about a dying old man. Something tormented him and finally told him: “When I was a boy,” he said, “I often played in a big wasteland. Two roads intersected in its center, and at the intersection stood an old crooked signpost. I turned it so that it began to show the wrong direction; and since then I often think about how many people, through my fault, went on the wrong road.

God will punish the person who sent his younger or weaker brother in the wrong direction.

2. In verses 3 and 4, Jesus speaks of the need for forgiveness in the Christian life. Jesus calls us to forgive a person, even seven times a day. The rabbis had a saying that a man who forgave his brother three times is a perfect man. The norm of a Christian is more than twice the norm of the Jewish rabbinical matter is not in numbers.

The number seven simply indicates that Christian forgiveness far exceeds any scale of petition known to mankind.

3. In verses 5 and 6 Jesus tells us that faith is the greatest power in the world. Let us recall that in the East they like to express themselves figuratively whenever possible. This phrase means that even the absolutely impossible can become possible if you believe in its implementation. One need only think of the many scientific miracles, surgical operations, feats of heroism and fortitude that have become a reality today, which fifty years ago were looked upon as something incredible and impossible. If we start something, thinking to ourselves: "Impossible", then we will not do anything. If we get down to business with the thought: "We need to do it," it is quite possible that we will do it. We must remember that we will not solve a single problem on our own, but only with God, with His power and authority.

4. In verses 7-10, Jesus says that we can never make God our debtor and can never demand anything from Him. Even if we have done our best, we have only done our duty; and the man who has done his duty has done only what can be expected of him.

If I gave the whole world,

Then my gift would be too small.

What kind of love will I give?

Nothing! I am Yours entirely.

Can meet all requirements law, but the lover knows that no one can satisfy all the demands of love.

A RARE GRATITUDE (Luke 17:11-19)

As Jesus passed from Galilee to Samaria on his way to Jerusalem, he was met by ten lepers. As we already know, the Jews did not associate with the Samaritans, and in this group of lepers there was at least one Samaritan. And again before us is the manifestation of the great law of life. The common misfortune knows neither racial nor national differences. Leprosy made them forget that some of them were Jews and others Samaritans; they remembered only that they were united by suffering and that they all needed help. When a flood floods the earth and wild animals seek salvation, on some dry piece of land one can see animals calmly standing nearby, who are by nature sworn enemies and at other times and under other circumstances fight to the death. So, no doubt, people are united only by their common need for God.

When Jesus passed, lepers stood in the distance (cf. Lev. 13,45-46; Number 5, 2). The law did not specify the exact distance, but we know of at least one evidence that a leper standing to windward should be no closer than 45 meters from an uninfected person. From here you can already see how isolated the lepers lived.

As in no other gospel story, human ingratitude is shown here. For the lepers came to Jesus, longing for healing; He healed them, and nine out of ten never came to Him to thank Him. How often a person who has received what he wants does not return to thank.

1. We are often ungrateful to our parents. But in the life of each of us there was a time of helplessness, when we would inevitably die without care even for a few days. Of all living beings, man requires the most care for the longest time before he can satisfy his own vital needs. For many years we have been dependent on our parents for everything. But many then begin to look at the aged as a hindrance, and do not want to pay tribute to their parents. As King Lear said in his terrible time:

How much

More painful than being bitten by a snake

Have an ungrateful child!

(Translated by B. Pasternak).

2. We are also often ungrateful to our fellow men. There is no man who does not owe something to his fellows. And at that moment, when help was rendered to him, everyone, perhaps, thought that he would never forget this, only a few later repay their brothers with the same that they owe them. Often we are indebted to a friend, a teacher, a doctor, a surgeon; but the tragedy is that often we do not even try to thank them for their care and work.

Blow, winter wind, blow!

You are not as cruel as

human ingratitude.

(Shakespeare, King Lear, Act 3, scene 2.)

3. Often we are ungrateful to God. In times of bitter need, we earnestly pray to God; and as soon as disasters pass, we forget about Him. Many do not even pray before eating. God sacrificed His Only Begotten Son for us, and many have never thanked God for His mercy. Our best gratitude to Him will be our efforts to justify His kindness and mercy. "Bless the Lord, my soul, and do not forget all His blessings" (Ps. 102,2).

SIGNS OF THE COMING (Luke 17:20-37)

We have two difficult passages before us.

In verses 20 and 21, Jesus answers the Pharisees' question about when the kingdom of heaven will come. To this He answered them that the signs of the coming of the Kingdom of Heaven were not at all those expected by the Jews. At the same time, Luke uses a word corresponding to Russian diagnose, that is, to determine the disease on the basis of research.

And we're not quite sure what Jesus meant by that. Greek turnover can have two meanings:

a) It can mean: The Kingdom of God is within us that is, it operates in our hearts and creates not new things, but new people. These changes take place not in the material sphere, but in the hearts of people.

b) It can mean: The kingdom of God is among you. In this case, he meant himself. Jesus was a shining embodiment of the Kingdom of God, but they did not recognize Him. He seemed to be saying, "All that God has to offer you, all His mysteries are before you, and you do not want to accept them."

And verses 22-37 speak of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. We can only select certain places from this passage, and they suffice:

1. The time will come when Christians will long for the coming of Christ. Like the holy martyrs they will cry out, "How long, Lord, Holy and True?" (Rev. 6,10 ). But they will have to be patient and wait. God is not in a hurry, and He will come in His time.

2. The second coming of Jesus Christ is predetermined, but the date of His coming is not known. And it's pointless to speculate about it. People will come with false prophecies and false predictions; but we must not leave our daily work to follow them. The best thing for a man is for Christ to find him doing his duty in faith, humbly and vigilantly. One Bible commentator said of the Second Coming of Christ: "No man foresees it, but everyone will see it."

3. When that day comes, God's justice will be done, and out of two people who have lived together all their lives, God will take one, and the other will remain. This phrase is a warning. A close relationship with a righteous person does not yet mean our own salvation. "No man can give deliverance to his brother." Isn't it true that a family often tends to delegate the responsibility of church attendance to one member? Isn't it true that a husband often leaves his wife to perform church duties, but God will judge each person individually. A person cannot fulfill his duty towards God through a trusted person, or even through close relatives. It will not be rare that God will take only one of the spouses and leave the other.

4. Being asked by the Pharisees when will this happen. Jesus answered famous saying: "Where the corpse is, there the eagles will gather." This means that everything will happen when all the necessary conditions are fulfilled, that is, Jesus Christ will be sent into our world when He considers that the time has come. We do not know when that time will come, we should not have illusions about it. But we must live in such a way that whenever He appears - in the morning, at noon or in the evening - we would be ready to meet Him.

Commentaries (introduction) to the entire book "From Luke"

Comments on Chapter 17

"The most beautiful book in existence."(Ernest Renan)

Introduction

I. SPECIAL STATEMENT IN THE CANON

The most beautiful book in existence is praise, especially from the mouth of a skeptic. And yet, this is precisely the assessment given to the Gospel of Luke by the French critic Renan. And what can a sympathetic believer who reads the inspired masterpiece of this evangelist object to these words? Luke is perhaps the only pagan writer chosen by God to record His Scriptures, and this partly explains his special appeal to the heirs of Greco-Roman culture in the West.

Spiritually, we would be much poorer in our appreciation of the Lord Jesus and His ministry without the unique expressiveness of Dr. Luke.

He emphasizes special interest of our Lord to individuals, even to the poor and outcasts, His love and salvation offered by Him to all people, and not just to Jews. Luke also emphasizes doxology (when he gives examples of early Christian hymns in chapters 1 and 2), prayer, and the Holy Spirit.

Luke - a native of Antioch, and a doctor by profession - was a companion of Paul for a long time, talked a lot with other apostles and in two books left us samples of the medicine for souls that he received from them.

External evidence Eusebius in his "History of the Church" about the authorship of the third Gospel is consistent with the general early Christian tradition.

Irenaeus widely cites the third gospel as being written by Luke.

Other early evidence in support of Luke's authorship includes Justin Martyr, Hegesippus, Clement of Alexandria, and Tertullian. In the extremely tendentious and abridged edition of Marcion, the Gospel of Luke is the only one accepted by this famous heretic. Muratori's fragmentary canon calls the third Gospel "according to Luke".

Luke is the only evangelist who wrote a continuation of his gospel, and it is from this book, the Acts of the Apostles, that Luke's authorship is most clearly seen. The passages with the word "we" in the Acts of the Apostles are a description of events in which the writer took a personal part (16:10; 20:5-6; 21:15; 27:1; 28:16; cf. 2 Tim. 4, eleven). After going through everyone, only Luka can be recognized as a participant in all these events. From the dedication to Theophilus and the style of writing, it is quite clear that the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles are written by the same author.

Paul refers to Luke as "the beloved physician" and speaks of him specifically, not confusing him with Jewish Christians (Col. 4:14), which points to him as the only pagan writer in the NT. The Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles are larger than all of Paul's letters combined.

Internal evidence reinforce external documents and church traditions. The lexicon (often more accurate in medical terms than other New Testament writers), along with the literary style of the Greek language, confirms the authorship of a cultured Gentile Christian physician, who is also well and thoroughly familiar with Jewish characteristic features. Luke's love for dates and precise studies (eg 1:1-4; 3:1) puts him in the ranks of the first historians of the Church.

III. WRITING TIME

The most probable date for the writing of the Gospel is the very beginning of the 60s of the 1st century. Some still attribute it to 75-85 years. (or even by the 2nd century), which is caused, at least, by a partial denial that Christ could accurately predict the destruction of Jerusalem. The city was destroyed in 70 AD, so the Lord's prophecy must have been written before that date.

Since almost everyone agrees that the Gospel of Luke should predate the writing of the book of Acts, and that Acts ends with Paul's stay in Rome around 63 AD, the earlier date seems to be correct. The great fire in Rome and the subsequent persecution of the Christians declared by Nero as the culprits (64 AD), as well as the martyrdom of Peter and Paul, would hardly have been ignored by the first church historian if these events had already occurred. Therefore, the most obvious date is 61-62 AD. AD

IV. PURPOSE OF WRITING AND THEME

The Greeks were looking for a person endowed with divine perfection and at the same time combining the best features of men and women, but without their shortcomings. This is how the Luke represents Christ - the Son of Man: strong and at the same time full of compassion. It emphasizes His human nature.

For example, here, more than in other Gospels, His prayer life is emphasized. Feelings of sympathy and compassion are often mentioned.

Perhaps that is why women and children occupy such a special place here. The gospel of Luke is also known as the missionary gospel.

This gospel is directed to the Gentiles, and the Lord Jesus is presented as the Savior of the world. And finally, this gospel is a manual for discipleship. We trace the path of discipleship in the life of our Lord and hear it detailed as He instructs His followers. In particular, it is this feature that we will trace in our presentation. In the life of a perfect Human, we will find elements that create an ideal life for all people. In His incomparable words we will find the way of the Cross to which He calls us.

As we begin our study of the Gospel of Luke, let us heed the call of the Savior, leave everything and follow Him. Obedience is an instrument of spiritual knowledge. The meaning of Holy Scripture will become clearer and dearer to us when we delve into the events described here.

Plan

I. PREFACE: LUKE'S PURPOSE AND HIS METHOD (1:1-4)

II. THE COMING OF THE SON OF MAN AND HIS FOREIGNER (1.5 - 2.52)

III. PREPARATION OF THE SON OF MAN FOR SERVICE (3.1 - 4.30)

IV. THE SON OF MAN PROVES HIS POWER (4.31 - 5.26)

V. THE SON OF MAN EXPLAINS HIS MINISTRY (5:27 - 6:49)

VI. THE SON OF MAN EXPANDS HIS MINISTRY (7.1 - 9.50)

VII. INCREASING RESISTANCE TO THE SON OF MAN (9.51 - 11.54)

VIII. TEACHING AND HEALING ON THE WAY TO JERUSALEM (Ch. 12 - 16)

IX. THE SON OF MAN INSTRUCTS HIS DISCIPLES (17:1 - 19:27)

X. THE SON OF MAN IN JERUSALEM (19:28 - 21:38)

XI. THE SUFFERING AND DEATH OF THE SON OF MAN (Ch. 22-23)

XII. THE VICTORY OF THE SON OF MAN (Ch. 24)

IX. THE SON OF MAN INSTRUCTS HIS DISCIPLES (17:1 - 19:27)

A. Offenses (17:1-2)

The sequence of presentation of thoughts in this chapter is not clear. At times, Luke even seems to be piecing together several disparate themes. However, Christ's initial remark about the danger of temptations can be connected with the story of the rich man at the end of the 16th chapter. A life of luxury, self-satisfaction, and convenience can easily be a stumbling block for young Christians in the faith. Especially if a person has a reputation as a Christian, he will inevitably be an example to others. How dangerous it is to lead the followers of the Lord Jesus Christ to a life dominated by materialism and worship of mammon.

Of course, this principle applies very widely. One of the little ones may stumble when he is encouraged to a worldly way of life. A person may stumble when involved in sexual sin. He may stumble over any doctrine that substitutes for the clear meaning of Holy Scripture. Anything that leads people astray from the path of sincere faith, commitment, and holiness is a stumbling block.

Knowing human nature and the condition of this world, the Lord said that it is impossible not to be tempted.

However, this does not reduce the guilt of the one through whom the temptations come. It would be better such a person if a millstone were hung around his neck and thrown it into the depths seas. It becomes clear that the purpose of such strong turns of speech is to depict not only physical death, but also eternal punishment.

When the Lord Jesus speaks of seduction these little ones, He probably means more than just children here. He seems to be referring to those who are young in the faith.

B. Forgiveness (17:3-4)

In the Christian life, there is not only the risk of seducing others. There is also a danger in pent-up anger, in unwillingness to forgive when the offender asks for forgiveness. This is exactly what the Lord is talking about here. The NT teaches how to approach such questions:

1. If a Christian has suffered damage from another Christian, then he must first of all forgive the offender in his heart (Eph. 4:32). This will keep his own heart free from resentment and malice.

2. Then he must personally address the offender and reprimand him(v. 3; also Matt. 18:15). If He repent, it must be said that he is forgiven. Even if he repeatedly sins and then says he repents, he must be forgiven (v. 4).

3. If a personal reprimand proves fruitless, then the person who has been harmed should take one or two witnesses (Matt. 18:16). If the offender does not obey them, then this matter must be brought before the church.

Refusal to heed the decision of the church should entail excommunication (Matt. 18:17).

The purpose of reprimands and other disciplinary actions is not to settle scores or humiliate the offender, but to restore him in fellowship with the Lord and brothers. All reprimands must be made in the spirit of love. It is not given to us to judge whether the repentance of the offender was true. We must take his word that he repented.

That's why Jesus says: "And if he sins against you seven times a day, and turns back seven times a day, and says, I repent, forgive him." This is the mercy our Father shows us. No matter how often we fall short of His expectations, we still remain confident that “if we confess our sins, He, being faithful and just, will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

C. About Faith (17:5-6)

17,5 The idea of ​​forgiveness seven times a day seemed apostles difficult, if not impossible. They thought that they would not be enough for such an act of mercy. So they asked Lord multiply in them faith.

17,6 Answer Lord showed that the question is not so much in the amount of faith, but in its quality. The problem is also not to acquire more faith, but to use the faith they had. It is our own pride and self-importance that keeps us from forgiving our brothers. This pride must be eradicated and banished.

If faith, the size of mustard seed, can uproot fig tree and transplant her in the sea, then it can even more easily give us victory over the cruelty and inflexibility that prevent us from infinitely forgiving our brother.

D. About useful servants (17:7-10)

17,7-9 The true servant of Christ has no reason to be proud. The feeling of conceit must be uprooted, and in its place a true consciousness of one's own unworthiness should be placed.

We find this lesson in the story of the slave. This slave all day plowed and passed sheep. When he's at the end of a heavy labor day returning from the field the owner does not invite him sit down dine at the table. Against, he tells him to put on his apron and serve supper.

Only after the execution of this order is the servant allowed to There is and drink by yourself. The owner will not thank his servant for everything he has done. This is his duty. After all, a slave belongs to his master, and his first duty is to be obedient.

17,10 So the disciples are the servants of the Lord Jesus Christ. They belong to Him in spirit, soul and body.

All they have ever done for the Savior will not be enough to recompense Him for what He did at Calvary. Therefore, the student having performed everything he ordered in NT, must still admit that he a worthless slave which did only that what should have done.

Roy Heshen lists the following five signs of a slave:

1. He must willingly take on one job after another without receiving any remuneration for it.

2. In doing so, he must not expect gratitude for it.

3. Having completed everything entrusted, he should not accuse his master of selfishness.

4. He must recognize himself as a slave, worthless.

5. He must admit that in doing the work and in meekness and humility assuming his position, he did nothing beyond what he was obliged to do. (Roy Hession, The Calvary Road, p. 49.)

E. Jesus cleanses ten lepers (17:11-19)

17,11 The sin of ingratitude is another danger that lies in wait for the disciple in his life. This is illustrated by the example of ten lepers. We read that the Lord Jesus, on his way to Jerusalem, passed between Samaria and Galilee.

17,12-14 When he entered a village, He was seen ten lepers. Because of their diseased condition, they did not come close, but cried out loudly to Him from a distance, imploring Him to heal them. He rewarded their faith by saying go see the priests. This meant that when they came to the priest, they would be healed of leprosy. The priest did not have the power to heal them, but his function was to announce them clean. Obedient to the word of the Lord, the lepers went to the priest, and when they walked miraculously cleansed from illness.

17,15-18 They all had faith to be healed, but only one in ten returned to thank the Lord. It is very interesting that this one was a Samaritan representative of the despised neighbors of the Jewish people, with whom the Jews had nothing to do. He prostrate(the true position of a God-worshipping person) to the feet Jesus is the true place of worship for God. Jesus asked were not ten cleansed? Why is no one but this foreigner, did not return to offer thanks. Where other nine? None of them returned give glory to God.

17,19 Turning to the Samaritan, the Lord Jesus said: "Get up, go; your faith has saved you." Only the grateful ten percent will inherit the true riches of Christ. Jesus welcomes our return (v. 15) and our thanksgiving (v. 16) with new blessings. Words "your faith saved you" indicate that nine were healed of leprosy, and the tenth was saved from sin as well!

F. About the coming of the Kingdom (17:20-37)

17,20-21 It's hard to know if there was a question Pharisees O kingdom sincere or they were just laughing. However, we do know that, as Jews, they cherished hopes for a Kingdom that would be established with great power and glory. They expected external signs - great political changes.

The Savior told them: "The kingdom of God will not come in a conspicuous manner", that is, the coming of the Kingdom of God, at least in its present form, will not be accompanied by outward signs. This is not a visible earthly temporal realm that could be said to be Here or there.

On the contrary, the Savior said that Kingdom of God within people, or better in the middle them. The Lord Jesus could not mean that the Kingdom was really in the hearts of the Pharisees, because these hardened religious hypocrites had no place in their hearts for Christ the King.

He meant that Kingdom of God was in their midst. He was the true King of Israel, He performed His miracles and presented His credentials for all to see. But the Pharisees were unwilling to receive Him.

Therefore, the kingdom of God was presented to them, and they did not notice it at all.

17,22 In a conversation with the Pharisees, the Lord described the Kingdom as something that had already arrived. When he turned to students then spoke of the Kingdom as a coming event to be established at His second coming. But first He described the period between His first and second comings. The days will come when students would like to see though would one of the days of the Son of Man, But they won't see. In other words, they will crave to return at least one of the days when He was with them on earth and they enjoyed sweet communion with Him. These days were in some way a foretaste of the time when He would return with power and great glory.

17,23-24 Many false Christs will appear, and the rulers will proclaim the coming of the Messiah. However, His followers should not be deceived by any such false news. The second coming of Christ will be as visible and unmistakable, like lightning which cuts the sky from edge to edge.

17,25 The Lord Jesus again reminded the disciples that before any of this happened, He must suffer much and be rejected this born.

17,26-27 Returning again to the theme of His coming to reign, the Lord noticed that days, immediately preceding this glorious event will be like days of Noah.

People ate, drank, married, were given in marriage. There is nothing wrong; it's normal, legal human activity. The evil was that people lived for all this, did not think about God and did not devote time to Him. After Noah and his family entered the ark, the flood came and destroyed all the rest of the people. So, for all who reject the mercy offered by God, the second coming of Christ will mean judgment.

17,28-30 The Lord also said that the days leading up to His second coming would be like the days Lot. Civilization had already advanced by this time; people not only ate and drank but also bought, sold, planted, built. It was man's attempt to create a golden age, to achieve peace and prosperity without God.

IN same the day that Lot his wife and daughters came out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed this sinful city. So it will be on the day when the Son of Man appears. Those who are determined to have fun, indulge themselves and trade will be exterminated.

17,31 It will be day, when attachment to earthly things endangers a person's life. If anyone will on the roof then he Not should strive to save their belongings from Houses. The one who will on the field, should not go back to your house. He needs to flee from these places where judgment will fall.

17,32 Although Lot's wife was almost taken out of Sodom by force, her heart belonged to that city. This is evidenced by the fact that she looked back. She came out of Sodom, but Sodom didn't come out of her. As a result, God destroyed her by turning her into a pillar of salt.

17,33 Who will take care life my, worrying only about physical safety and not caring about your soul, he will destroy her. On the contrary, anyone who ruin his life during this period of great tribulation due to faithfulness to the Lord, actually save it for eternity.

17,34-36 (Version 36 is missing from most manuscripts, and even the oldest ones, which means that it probably was not in the original text.) The coming of the Lord will be a time of separation. Two will sleep on the same bed. One will take for the court. Another, believer, will be pardoned to enter the Kingdom of Christ. The two will grind together; one, unbeliever, will take in the storm of God's wrath; another, child of God will stay to enjoy the blessings of the Millennial Kingdom with Christ.

By the way, verses 34 and 35 confirm that the earth is round. The fact that it is night in one part of the earth and day in another, as evidenced by the occupations mentioned, demonstrates scientific facts which were discovered only many years later.

17,37 From the words of the Savior, the disciples correctly understood that His second coming would be a catastrophic judgment from heaven on an apostate world. So they asked Lord, where judgment will take place. He replied that Where will corpse, and the eagles will gather there. Eagles or vultures symbolize the coming judgments. The answer, therefore, points out that judgment will fall on every form of disbelief and opposition to God, wherever they may be.

In chapter 17, the Lord Jesus warned the disciples that trouble and persecution awaited them. Until the time of His glorious appearing, they will have to go through great trials. In order to prepare them, the Savior gives further instruction regarding prayer. In the following verses we find the widow's prayer, the Pharisee's prayer, the publican's prayer, and the beggar's prayer.

The well-known Russian ascetic Ignatius Brianchaninov (1807-1867) instructed believers: “When reading the Gospel, do not seek pleasure, do not seek delight, do not seek brilliant thoughts, but seek to see the infallibly holy Truth.” The saint was right: only the truth enlightens the mind and strengthens the heart, only the truth liberates and pleases. In the first four verses of Luke 17, we will deal with Christ's truth about resisting temptations, and we will pray for this truth to guide us.

“[Jesus] also said to the disciples: it is impossible not to come as temptations, but woe to him through whom they come; it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. 3. Watch yourself. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him; and if he sins against you seven times a day, and turns back seven times a day, and says, I repent, forgive him” (Luke 17:1-4).

The word "scandal" is known to everyone: it means a rude verbal skirmish or a bad act of a respected person that has become public knowledge. But not everyone knows that this word came from Ancient Greece, where it meant “trap”, “trap”, “loop”. Traps should look attractive, promising benefits, but their goal is insidious - to take away freedom and even life itself. It is in this sense that dire consequences Christ warned of temptations. His teaching is relevant in our days of rapid approach to the time of the Antichrist, when temptations will play a key role in the devilish struggle for lost souls.

1. Beware of falling into the trap of temptation!

... it is impossible not to come temptations

Temptations are an inevitable companion of earthly existence! One of the translations of this text reads: "There will certainly be something that seduces a person to sin." Just as the lame cannot walk straight and the blind cannot paint a picture, so our inhumane world cannot but set deadly traps for soul and body. Temptations are placed by the experienced hand of Satan. In the parable of the wheat and the tares, the slaves ask: how did the tares appear in the field when they sowed only wheat? The answer was, "The enemy, Satan, has done it" (Matt. 13:28). Temptations would have no power if the sinful nature of man did not respond with pleasure to them. She stumbles over everything, and even over the most sacred: “And they were offended because of Him. Jesus said to them: There is no prophet without honor, except in his own country and in his own house” (Mat. 13:57).

Christ warned of the inevitability of temptations, so that we be careful not to love the world, nor the things in the world. So people working with life-threatening drugs are constantly reminded of safety precautions so that they are vigilant and save themselves from harm. I will list the most common traps that you should beware of at all costs.

• Conflicts

You will inevitably stumble over the imperfection of people and will lose your psychological and spiritual balance. You will meet with rudeness, irresponsibility, cunning, stupidity, inconstancy, greed, resentment, indifference. Human bad inclinations can provoke you to anger, revenge, deceit, unforgiveness, grumbling, despondency. Remember how childless Anna stumbled over the ridicule of her rival! How many tears she cried! (1 Sam. 1:6,7) And what Anna! Even the meekest Christ was forced to mourn over the temptation of the bitterness of the Pharisees, even He had to say with tears many times: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees!”

• Dependencies

Oh, how many there are in our world! Everyone knows nicotine addiction, whose traps are placed at all public transport stops and in almost all stores. They firmly hold 1.3 billion people with their teeth! In 1496, Columbus brought tobacco seeds from America to Spain. And a hundred years later he ended up in Russia. Tobacco was considered in those days a useful substance, a lung purifier, a brain stimulant. Then no one knew that tobacco smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals, of which 70 are strong carcinogens. In the 20th century, tobacco claimed the lives of 100 million people. And if nothing is done, it will claim up to 1 billion lives in our century.

Very scary alcohol addiction. According to the chief narcologist of the Russian Federation Yevgeny Bryun, today from 30 to 40% of the Russian population abuses alcohol, 2% are alcoholics, and about 1% are drug addicts. Those who fall into this dependence become its zealous distributors. When they are in the company, it is easier for them to justify their addiction: “I'm not the only one! Everyone drinks, so it's right! And why not drink to health, luck and meeting? Why not pour the bitterness of rejection and failure?

The 21st century has given a previously unknown computer addiction. 19% of the 250 million Facebook users admitted to feeling its irresistible power. And pornographic addiction has become so widespread that sociologists have called modern society pornographic. A generation is growing whose natural ability to love sincerely has been completely killed by this evil. The result of the spread of pornography was cynicism, humiliation of women, out-of-wedlock pregnancies, abortions, crimes, drug addiction, family breakdown, and suicide.

10% of the world's population suffers shopping addiction. In the United States, 400 societies of anonymous debtors have appeared - people suffering from a passion for shopping.

• profit

Lot, seduced by a business project in Sodom, Balaam, who sold his prophetic honor, Achan, who encroached on gold bars, Judas Iscariot, who decided to make money on the betrayal of Christ, soldiers who lied for money about the theft of the body of Christ, Ananias and Sapphira, hiding from the price of the sold property - these are some unfortunate examples of those caught in a trap of profit. Don't add your names to them! Remember the apostolic warning: “For the love of money is the root of all evil, which, having given way, some have erred from the faith and subjected themselves to many tribulations” (1 Timothy 6:10).

• false doctrine

There is no biblical truth that is not attacked by false teachers. Even in apostolic times, they disputed the doctrines of the real incarnation of Christ, the importance of the local church, the need for a holy life, the coming resurrection of the dead, and so on. In our time there are as many false teachers as there are stars in the sky. Mass media facilitate the penetration of their ideas into the hearts of people.

• Occultism

I often say: after Solomon, I am not surprised at anything. God spoke to him, he was the wisest man in the world, the author of the famous Parables and the Song of Songs, and yet he fell into the trap of the occult! “And Solomon began to serve Astarte, the deity of Sidon, and Milhom, the abomination of the Ammonites. And Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and did not fully follow the Lord, as did David his father. Then Solomon built a temple for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, on the mountain that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the Ammonites” (1 Kings 11:5-7).

• Legalism

The Galatian churches fell into this trap, believing the false teachers that without observing the rite of circumcision, no one has the right to expect salvation. The Apostle Paul wholeheartedly defended the doctrine of salvation by grace: "You, who justify yourselves by the law, have been left without Christ; you have fallen away from grace" (Gal. 5:4). Despite the clear apostolic teaching on grace, millions of Christians are now caught in the trap of legalism, not realizing that good works should be the effect, not the cause, of salvation. The reason for salvation is grace.

• Carelessness

When a person declares: “What I deserve, I will get! If it pleases God to save me, He will save me” and makes no effort to enter through the narrow gate, he is clearly trapped in carelessness. “... all this disaster has befallen us; but we did not pray to the Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities and understand your truth” (Dan. 9:13). It is not difficult to meet such people in cities and villages of all continents.

• Delights

Christ pointed out that some “hear the word, but when they go away, they are crushed by the cares, riches and pleasures of life and do not bear fruit” (Luke 8:14). It is for this reason that Demas, a co-worker of the apostle Paul, left his mentor (2 Tim. 4:10).

How dangerous is the world we live in! He is full of temptations. But if we are warned, then we are armed. See how your money shines through in stores and banks so as not to be deceived by a fake. So we must beware of deceit, and this will save us from falling into temptation.

2. Beware of being a conductor of temptation!

... woe to him through whom they come; it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. Watch yourself.

We consider the dying man an unfortunate person, especially if he is executed by drowning with a heavy stone around his neck. How painful and shameful is this death! No one will remember such a person with a kind word and plant flowers on his grave. However, according to the word of Christ, the seducer deserves a much worse fate. True, it should be clarified: Christ did not call for drowning sinners in the sea or the river. He did not come to judge the world, but to save. He simply, comparing the heavy death in the water and the seduction of the most insignificant child of God, argued: if you need to choose between two evils, then the latter is preferable. Oh, what a heavy punishment awaits people guilty of temptations - those who sowed conflicts, who persuaded someone to try to smoke, drink, inject, who sold books, disks of false teachers, who drew fragile souls into debauchery.

No matter how a person justifies himself, his conscience will never justify him. Not believing in God Soviet poet Mikhail Svetlov (and if there is no God, then everything is allowed!) in the poem "The High Road" could not but say about remorse after shameless carousing:

I'm not an angel either

I also often

At the beauty's door

Tenkal with spurs,

Mustache run

And twisted famously

Indulging in love

Confusion.

But a stinking residue

For long periods

But shame is like a slap in the face

Lies on the cheeks.

Forgive us wives!

Forgive us era

Hussar traditions

Damned lust!

If a weak conscience, mutilated by sin, nevertheless condemns seducers, how terrible will they feel at the Last Judgment, when all the power of God's justice will fall upon their sins? The price of the human soul is incredibly high, and to destroy it is to commit the gravest crime. If you are guilty of the sin of seduction, repent! God wants to forgive you and proved it by committing His beloved Son to death on the cross. I read somewhere about a man who many times went out to stand in the city square with a banner: “I repent!” Everyone knew him as a fighter with faith in God, but when he believed in Him, he decided to atone for his guilt before the people by open repentance. Subsequently, he became a member of the church and a preacher of the gospel.

Christ has called us to wakefulness: watch yourself. What does this mean in the context of the theme of the fight against temptations?

First, fight the temptations of your sinful body . “But if your hand or your foot offends you, cut them off and throw them away from you: it is better for you to enter into life without an arm or without a leg, than with two arms and two legs to be thrown into eternal fire; and if your eye offends you, pluck it out and throw it away from you: it is better for you to enter into life with one eye than to be cast into hellfire with two eyes” (Mat. 18:8,9)

Our body is not always our friend. Most often, it acts as an enemy: the eye (how relevant it is for our times!), supplying us with 90% of the information, can drag us into the sin of enjoying someone else's beauty! A hand caressing a child, writing poetry, buying goods, can give a slap in the face, write a denunciation, take someone else's thing. The leg that takes us to church or work can drag us to a brothel or a tavern.

Christ calls for a radical opposition to the temptation emanating from the members of our body. To do this, it is not necessary to gouge out the eye and cut off the arm or leg. It is enough to categorically oppose him, as Jesus did: “And, having called Him away, Peter began to rebuke Him: Be merciful to Yourself, Lord! may it not be with you! And he turned and said to Peter, Get away from Me, Satan! you are a temptation to me! because you think not about what is God, but what is human” (Mat. 16:22,23). Do not think about temptation, do not give him a little freedom. Pray, fast, call on God and friends for help, but don't give up! If you help yourself win against temptation, you can help others win too!

Second, resist the temptation to assert personal freedom by any means necessary. Although Christianity is not a religion of prohibitions, but a religion of freedom, yet freedom has limits. It must not be used to harm others. It happens that weak Christians see sin in the use of any products, in the rejection of age-old rituals, styles of clothing, musical styles. Should I ignore their feelings and go ahead? No and no! The Apostle Paul called for the infringement of personal freedom for the sake of the good of one's neighbor: “It is better not to eat meat, not to drink wine, and not [to do] anything [that] causes your brother to stumble, or be offended, or faint” (Rom. 14:21). It is better to sacrifice your freedom, your privileges, than to allow someone to be disappointed in the Christian faith. Such was our Teacher Christ. “When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of didrachmas approached Peter and said: “Will your teacher give didrachms? He says yes. And when he entered the house, Jesus, warning him, said: What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect duties or taxes? from his own sons, or from strangers? Peter says to Him: from strangers. Jesus said to him: Therefore, the sons are free; but, lest we tempt them, go to the sea, cast your hook, and take the first fish that comes across, and, opening its mouth, you will find a stater; take it and give it to them for me and for yourself” (Mat. 17:24-27). Christ was afraid to serve as a temptation for tax collectors and infringed on His freedom not to pay for the temple.

3. Help others get rid of temptation!

If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him;

Whoever commits an open sin will certainly arouse in others the temptation to imitate sin or the temptation of condemnation. “But you turned aside from this path, for many you served as a stumbling block in the law, you broke the covenant of Levi, says the Lord of hosts” (Mal. 2:8). We have no right to pass by a brother who sows temptation. We must help him throw the evil seeds out of his hands. Otherwise, his fate is very unenviable.

Help must come through counseling conversation. Christ calls: reprimand him. To pronounce means to rebuke the sinful deeds of a brother and show in what and how they contradict the teaching of Scripture on piety. We do not have the right to convict in what the Bible does not convict, and therefore only those who know the Scriptures can decide on a diatribe. Scripture is able to both protect and heal from temptation: "I have said this to you so that you will not be tempted" (John 16:1). On the other hand, we have no right to rebuke a person without love: “Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no offense in him” (1 John 2:10). When a person convicts without love, he chooses harsh words, speaks in an icy tone, without condescension to the weaknesses of the sinner. Love is merciful and ready to wait a long time: and if he sins against you seven times a day, and turns back seven times a day, and says, I repent, forgive him. Love knows that in some cases the path to victory lies through many defeats, and its hour must be waited with patience.

One of the brothers to whom we owe spiritual awakening among the highest nobility of St. Petersburg was Lord Grenville Redstock, the son of an admiral of the English fleet, who loved all worldly amusements to belief. As an army officer, he took part in the Crimean War and witnessed its horrors. There, suddenly, he was stricken with a fever, and the doctors did not cherish the hope of his recovery. Grenville himself thought in horror: “My last hour has come, and I am not ready to stand before God!” Thanks to his pious mother, he knew about the path of salvation and turned to God in a sincere prayer of repentance. It was revealed to him that the sins of the repentant sinner had already been washed away by the holy blood of the Savior. Christ intercedes for everyone before God the Father, and all who have accepted Him are saved and should not doubt it.

When he returned to London, it was time for dinner parties and balls. The future baron visited them from time to time. And it is not known how long this secular life would have continued if one believing lawyer had not gently denounced him. He asked him: “What are you doing for your new Lord Christ?” This unexpected question made Grenville think seriously. The decision was made irrevocably. He sold all the luxuries, dismissed the servants and began to provide for his own living. At the age of 33, with the rank of colonel, he left the military and began visiting hospitals to read the Bible to the sick and dying. He saw how the Word of God radically changed people's lives. He began to pray that God would help him bring the good news to Russia, with which he had once fought. The answer came ten years later. And what a great answer! The fruits of Redstock's ministry are seen one hundred and forty years later in the lives of hundreds of thousands of evangelical believers in our country...

We do not know the name of the lawyer who helped Grenville get rid of the temptation of a half life, but we know for sure that there is his merit in the spiritual awakening in St. Petersburg. How can we not imitate such people?

Said also Jesus to the disciples: it is impossible not to come temptations, but woe to him through whom they come; it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. Watch yourself. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him; and if he sins against you seven times a day, and turns back seven times a day, and says, I repent, forgive him. Since the covetous Pharisees murmured against the Lord because He spoke of non-possessiveness, He first told the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, showing them through it what punishment would befall them for being attached to wealth; and then he turns his speech to the disciples about the Pharisees themselves, that they create a temptation and keep others from the Divine path, and that for this “woe” is set before them for their lot. Let's see what He says. "It is impossible not to come to temptations, but woe to him through whom they come," that is, it is impossible not to come to temptations or obstacles in a good and God-loving life. For with the great wickedness of people, there must also be many obstacles to preaching and to the truth. But woe only to him through whom they come, that is, to the originator of them, what are the Pharisees who tempt and hinder preaching. Many people ask with bewilderment: if temptations must come and it is impossible to preach without encountering obstacles, then why, Lord, do you condemn and call unfortunate those responsible for temptations? They became like that out of necessity, and everything that is done out of necessity is worthy of forgiveness. “Know that this necessity itself has its origin in free will. I will say it more clearly: the Lord, seeing the malice of the people of that time, seeing how they are attached to evil and do not choose anything good, said that, judging by the consequences from what is now before our eyes, temptations must come. So, the malice in which people delighted is the work of arbitrariness, and the production of temptations necessarily followed from malice; therefore the perpetrators of temptations are worthy of punishment. This can be explained with an example. The doctor, seeing that such and such leads a bad way of life and indulges in excess, may say that he will necessarily fall ill. Is this illness necessary? Yes, as a consequence of a bad lifestyle, it is necessary. Therefore, woe to those who hinder preaching, because they have reached such wickedness that it has become necessary for temptations to come. And indeed, it is better for a man who produces temptations and obstacles to have a millstone hung up for him and thrown into the sea, than to tempt and seduce one of the little ones, that is, the faithful. Therefore, the Lord warns the disciples: "Watch yourselves." Here, - he says, - I first tell you that evil will come, do not be responsible. For evil must come, but there is no need for you to perish if you be careful and arm yourself. It is necessary for the wolf to come, but if the shepherd is awake, there is no need for the sheep to die, and the wolf must leave with an empty throat. The Lord said this about seducers and those who harm preaching, that is, hinder. Since there is a great difference between them, for some are incurable like the Pharisees, while others are curable as brothers of the Lord in relation to the Lord Himself, for they did not believe in Him (John 7:5). So, since there is a big difference between those who hinder preaching, for there could be some among them who were of the same faith, the Lord says: if your brother sins against you, you reprimand him in private, and if he listens to you, you have gained him, but if he does not listen, take him with one or two more, and others, which the Evangelist Matthew (18, 15-17) depicted more extensively, and the Evangelist Luke passed in silence, as already said by the Evangelist Matthew. Whoever listens to a reprimand is worthy of forgiveness; and whoever does not listen, let him be like a pagan and a publican, that is, vile and unworthy to be called a brother. Then, as if someone said: so be it, Lord! You distinguished it well; but what to do with the one who has received forgiveness many times and harms again? The Lord says: if he repents again, forgive him. And one more thing: if he turns seven times a day, forgive him. And the word "seven times a day" is put here instead of the word "many times", similarly as in the expression: "even a barren woman gives birth seven times" (1 Sam. 2, 5). So, how many times he repents, so many times you must forgive him. And do not think that the Lord supposes a number, how many times to forgive, but, as I said before, understand "seven times a day" instead of "many times" and countless. We say in ordinary conversation: in such and such a city there are darkness (ten thousand) inhabitants, but we say not because it really has ten thousand inhabitants, for there may be more of them in it, but instead of naming the city very crowded, we say that it has ten thousand inhabitants. And that "seven times a day" is used in that sense, this is evident from the Gospel of Matthew (18, 21-22). For there, when Peter said: Lord, must I forgive him (my brother) up to seven times? The Lord said; not up to seven, but up to seventy times seven, denoting by this countless times.

And the Apostles said to the Lord: increase our faith. The Lord said: If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, and said to this fig tree, Be uprooted and transplanted into the sea, then it would obey you. Which of you, having a servant plow or shepherd, upon his return from the field, will say to him: go quickly, sit down at the table? On the contrary, will he not say to him: prepare me supper, and, having girded yourself, serve me while I eat and drink, and then eat and drink yourself? Will he thank this servant for having carried out the order? Don't think. So also you, when you have done all that is commanded to you, say: We are worthless slaves, because we have done what we had to do.

The apostles believed in the Lord, however, having come to the consciousness of their weakness, realizing that the Lord had said something great, and, having heard about the danger from temptations, they ask that the power of faith be multiplied in them, so that through it they could fulfill what what He said, that is, concerning non-possessiveness. For nothing strengthens in non-possessiveness as much as faith in God and firm hope in Him, just as nothing disposes to collecting treasures so much as unbelief that God is a great treasury keeper (treasurer), and His goodness is an inexhaustible treasury; moreover, with faith they can resist temptations. Therefore, the apostles approach the Lord and say: "increase faith in us," that is, make us more perfect and firmer in faith. The Lord, showing them that their request is good and that they need to firmly hold on to the idea that faith has great power, says: if you had faith, you would also transplant this fig tree. There are two great things here, namely: what is rooted in the earth would, firstly, move from its place, and secondly, would be transplanted into the sea. What can be planted in water? Obviously, with these words the Lord shows the power of faith. Perhaps someone in a figurative sense by "fig tree" will mean the devil, since he invented the eternal worm for us and feeds him with the thoughts implanted by him; for worms feed on fig leaves, from which silk threads are made. So faith can uproot this fig tree from the human heart and throw it into the sea, that is, cast it into the abyss. - Having said this about faith, the Lord adds another very necessary teaching. What is it? The doctrine that one should not be proud of perfection. Since faith accomplishes many things and makes the one who has it a doer of the commandments, decorating him with this and miracles, and from this a person can easily fall into arrogance; therefore the Lord warns the apostles not to be exalted with perfections, presenting a fine example. “Who,” he says, “having a slave from among you,” and so on. This parable declares what should not be magnified by any perfection, not even by the fulfillment of all the commandments. For the slave has the necessary obligation to carry out the orders of the master, but the execution of them should not be imputed to him to perfection. For if the slave will not do, he is worthy of wounds; and when he has done, let him be content with the fact that he escaped wounds, and should not demand payment for this. For to pay him, especially to give him something, depends on the generosity of the master. So also the one who works for God should not be exalted if he fulfills the commandments, for he has not done anything great. On the contrary, if he had not fulfilled, he would have been woe, as the apostle said: "Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!" (1 Corinthians 9:16). Similarly, if he has received gifts, he should not be magnified by them, for the gifts were given to him by the grace of God, and not because the Lord owed him. For the special duty of a slave, in relation to his master, is to carry out all his orders. If we should not think anything great about ourselves even when we keep all the commandments, then what happens when we do not fulfill even a small part of the commandments of God, and even when we are proud? Pay attention also to the expression of the parable, that first “plower” is placed, and then “shepherd” is added. For, whoever it is, first needs to cultivate the land, and then take over the pastoral office. He who has cultivated his flesh well, like some kind of land, is worthy to be a shepherd for others. For whoever does not know how to manage his own house properly, how will he take care of the Church (1 Tim. 3:5)? So, first cultivate yourself, and then shepherd others, just as the prophet Jeremiah said: “plough for yourselves new fields” (Jer. 4:3), and then enlighten yourself with the light of reason, which denotes the most important part of the pastoral office.

Going to Jerusalem, He passed between Samaria and Galilee. And when He entered a certain village, ten men of lepers met Him, who stopped at a distance and said with a loud voice: Jesus the Master! have mercy on us. Seeing their, He said to them: go, show yourself to the priests. And as they went, they were cleansed. One of them, seeing that he was healed, returned, glorifying God with a loud voice, and fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him; and that was a Samaritan. Then Jesus said, Were not ten cleansed? where is nine? how did they not return to give glory to God, except for this foreigner? And he said to him: get up, go; your faith has saved you.

And from this everyone can know that nothing prevents anyone from pleasing God, even if he were from a cursed family, but only if he had a good will. Here are ten lepers who met Jesus when He was about to enter a certain city. They met Him outside the city, because they, since they were considered unclean, were not allowed to live inside the city (Lev. 13:46). They stopped "far off", as if ashamed of their imaginary impurity and not daring to approach in the thought that Jesus, too, abhors them, as others did, lift up their voice and ask for mercy. In place they stood far away, but through prayer they stood near. For the Lord is close to all who call on Him in truth (Ps. 144:18). They ask for mercy, not as from a simple man, but as from one who is above man. For they call Jesus the Instructor, that is, Lord, Guardian, Overseer, which is very close to calling him God, He (Jesus) commands them (the lepers) to show themselves to the priests. For the priests examined such, and from them these decided whether they were free from leprosy or not (Lev. 13). The priests had signs by which they noted incurable leprosy. And even then, when someone fell ill with leprosy, then recovered, the priests examined them, and they were brought a gift, which is prescribed in the Law. But here, when the lepers were indisputably such, what need did they have to show themselves to the priests, if they were not to be completely cleansed? Their command to go to the priests indicated nothing else but that they would be made clean. That is why it is said that they were cleansed as they walked along the road. But look, as we said at first, out of ten people, nine, although they were Israelis, remained ungrateful. And the Samaritan, although he was of a strange race, returned and expressed his gratitude (and the Samaritans were Assyrians), so that none of the pagans would despair, and none of those descended from holy ancestors would boast of this. - This miracle also hints at the common salvation that was for the whole human race. Ten lepers denote all human nature, leprous with malice, bearing the disgrace of sin, living for its uncleanness outside the city of heaven and far from God. This very separation from God interceded for mercy. For for one who loves mankind and desires to save everyone and bless God, the strongest motive for mercy is to see that no one participates in goodness. For this very reason He bowed down to heal those in such a state. And although He healed the whole leper nature, being incarnate and tasting death for every person, however, the Jews, despite the fact that they were cleansed by the Lord from all the impurities of leprous sin, turned out to be ungrateful and did not turn from their vain path to give glory to the Savior God, that is, to believe Him that He, true god willing to endure the most grievous suffering. For the Flesh and the Cross are the glory of God. So, they did not recognize the Incarnate and the Crucified as the Lord of glory. But the Gentiles, a strange people, recognized Him who cleansed them and glorified Him by faith that God is so philanthropic and powerful that for our sake He took upon Himself extreme dishonor, which is a matter of philanthropy, and, accepting it, did not suffer any harm in His nature, which is matter of power.

But being asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God would come, he answered them: The Kingdom of God will not come in a conspicuous manner, and they will not say, Behold, it is here, or, Behold, there. For behold, the kingdom of God is within you. He also said to his disciples: The days will come when you wish to see at least one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see; and they will say to you, Behold, here, or, Behold, there, do not go and do not chase, for as lightning that flashes from one side of the sky shines to the other side of the sky, so will the Son of Man be in His day. But first He must suffer much and be rejected by this generation.

The Lord often referred to the Kingdom of God in His teaching. But the Pharisees, hearing about it, laughed at the Lord and therefore proceeded with the question of when it would come, in the form of a mockery of Him, as of an eccentric preaching about an extraordinary and strange subject. For none of the former teachers and prophets mentioned it (the Kingdom of God). Or, perhaps, having in mind their intention to kill Him in a short time, they approach Him with a question in order to prick Him and ridicule Him, as if saying: You are talking about the Kingdom, when will this Kingdom of Yours come? For in the morning you will be handed over to death by us, you will be lifted up on the cross and you will receive many other dishonor. What is Christ? He does not answer the foolish for their foolish thought and folly (Prov. 26:4), but leaves them to wander about the similarity of the Kingdom, and does not reveal to them what kind of Kingdom He speaks of (for they would not accept), nor the fact that this Kingdom is not like the kingdom of the world, but is the Kingdom of the world (John 18, 36). Having kept silent about this, since they, due to their arbitrary deafness, were not worthy to hear about it, the Lord says about the time of the coming of the Kingdom that it is unknown and not subject to observation; for the kingdom of God has no fixed time, but is present at all times to those who wish. For the Kingdom of God, without a doubt, constitutes the life and organization of itself in the image of the angels. Then, they say, truly God reigns when there is nothing worldly in our souls, but when we behave above the world in everything. And we have such a way of life within ourselves, that is, when we want. For faith does not require a long time or travel, but faith, and after faith - a God-pleasing life, are close to us. Of this very thing the apostle said: "The word is close to you, in your mouth and in your heart, that is, the word of faith, which we preach" (Rom. 10:8). For in order to believe and, having believed, to walk worthy of the calling, it is within us. So the Pharisees sneered at the Lord for preaching a Kingdom that no one preached about. But the Lord declares that they do not understand such a subject, which is within them and which it is very convenient for the one who wishes to reach. Now, when I am among you, you can certainly receive the Kingdom of God if you believe in Me and decide to live according to My commandments. "He also said to his disciples: The days will come," and so on. That is, the Kingdom of God belongs to you as long as I am with you. It belongs to you not only because you have believed in Me and followed Me, but also because you now live with complete carelessness, as I care and think about you. But when I am not with you, such days will come that you will be delivered over to dangers, you will be led to lords and kings. Then you, as the Kingdom of God, will wish for the present safe life that you lead under Me, and many times wish to receive at least one of My days, that is, the days of My stay with you, as days of safety. Although they (the disciples of the Lord), and while they were with Him, did not lead a life without labors and dangers, but endured flight with the fleeing and insult with the offended, but if their former adventures are compared with future dangers, it turns out that they were then very safe. Therefore, even with such a way of life, that is, with small dangers and labors, the Kingdom of God was within the apostles; while after the Resurrection they were, as it were, captives and exiles. With these words, the Lord prepares the hearts of the apostles for labor and patience, and first tells them not to be offended (John 16:1). "And they will tell you," he says, "behold, here, or: behold, there, do not go and do not chase." Do not listen, he says, to anyone's belief that I have come here or there. For My second coming, most brilliant and glorious, will not be limited to any place, but like lightning is not hidden, but appears from one end of the earth to the other end, so will My second coming be bright and obvious and will not be hidden for anyone. So, do not give in to the temptations of false Christs. Before I appeared in a manger and was in humiliation for thirty years, but then it will not be so: I will come in all glory, accompanied by angelic hosts and in an instant. Then, since he predicted terrible disasters for them, comforting them and urging them to endure them courageously, he sets himself up for them as an example. Do not be surprised, - he says, - if such difficulties happen to you that make you wish for the return of My present stay with you. For I myself, who will appear as lightning, must first suffer much and be rejected, and then come in this glory. Let this be for you a conviction to virtue and an encouragement to patience, that is, look at Me and hope that you will also receive glory for enduring dangers and rejection, just like Me.

And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the days of the Son of Man: eating, drinking, marrying, giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Just as it was in the days of Lot: they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all; so it will be on the day when the Son of Man appears. And here the Lord points to the suddenness and unexpectedness of His coming. For just as in the time of Noah the flood suddenly came and destroyed them all, so will be His coming. These examples, that is, the example of the antediluvians and Sodomites (before the fire), also hint at the fact that at the coming of the Antichrist all obscene pleasures will multiply among people, that people will be dissolute and given over to criminal pleasures, just as the apostle said that "in the last days people will be more lovers of pleasure than lovers of God" (2 Tim. 3, 1-2. 4). And it is not surprising that under the reign of the deceiver, evil will flourish. For it is the abode of the wickedness of every sin. What else will he try to instill in the miserable generation of people of that time, if not his own qualities? For from the unclean, what can be made clean? So, people will then be mired in every sensual pleasure, like under Noah, and they will not expect any trouble, they will not even believe if someone speaks to them about the adventure of some kind of misfortune, like people who lived in the days of Noah and in the days of Lot .

On that day, whoever is on the roof, and his things are in the house, do not go down to take them; and whoever is on the field, also do not turn back. Remember Lot's wife. Whoever begins to save his soul will destroy it; and whoever destroys her will revive her.

On that day of the coming of the Antichrist, whoever will be "on the roof", that is, at the height of virtue, does not descend from it, do not descend for any worldly object. For all worldly objects are called vessels for a person, serving one for virtue, and another for evil deeds. So, standing on the height of virtue, do not go after anything worldly and do not fall from your height, but resist malice and do not weaken. Likewise, he who is in the field, let him not turn back. For he who is in the field, that is, in this world, who cultivates virtue, must not turn back, but must stretch forward, as it is said elsewhere: "No one who has put his hand on the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God" (Lk. 9, 62). The Lord presents Lot's wife as an example. She, having turned back, became a pillar of salt, that is, not far from malice, she remained with her saltiness, becoming completely evil, and, mired and remaining in evil, constitutes a monument to the defeat that she suffered. Then the Lord adds what is also related to the above: "Whoever saves his life will destroy it." No one, - he says, - in the persecution of the Antichrist, do not try to save your soul, for such will destroy it. And whoever gives himself up to death and, in general, to disasters, he will be saved without bowing before the tormentor out of love for life. Above, the Lord said that one who stands at the height of virtue should not go with it for worldly objects, should not be carried away by either acquisition or property, and because of them weaken in the struggle. Likewise, now, stretching further, he says: and what do I say, do not go for the vessels? No, do not leave virtue, and because of external blessings, or even because of the very preservation of the soul, do not dare to bow before the deceiver and persecutor. - The Evangelist Matthew (Matt. 24) says that the Lord said all this about the captivity of Jerusalem, hinting at the siege from the enemies and the fact that during the invasion of the Romans one should flee from them without looking back: those on the roof do not need to go into the house to take something of worldly, but must immediately run, because here is not a time of calm to collect vessels; likewise, those who are in the field do not need to return home, and even those who will be at home need to run. By the way, there is nothing surprising if this happened during the capture of Jerusalem and will again come true at the coming of the Antichrist, especially if just before the time of death (the world) grief has to be unbearably heavy.

I tell you: that night there will be two on the same bed: one will be taken and the other left; two will grind together: one will be taken and the other left; two will be on the field: one will be taken, and the other will be left. To this they said to Him: Where, Lord? He said to them: where the corpse is, there the eagles will gather. And from here we learn that the coming of the Lord will follow unexpectedly and suddenly. For the saying that two will be in one bed shows the carelessness of people. Likewise, threshing denotes the unexpectedness of the coming. We also learn that the advent will follow at night. So, the Lord says that even among the rich who rest on the bed, some will be saved, while others will not. Once the Lord said that the rich are saved with difficulty (Matt. 19:23-24). Now He shows that not all the rich perish, not all the poor are saved, but even from the rich one will be taken and will be caught up to meet the Lord (1 Thess. 4:17), as light in spirit and heavenly, while the other will be left below, as condemned. Likewise, among the poor who are signified as grinding, one will be saved and the other not. For not all the poor are righteous: some of them are thieves and cut purses. Threshing indicates the complexity of the life of the poor. When the disciples asked the Lord where these would be taken, He answered: where the corpse is, there are the eagles; that is, where the Son of Man is, there are all the saints, light and high-flying, while sinners are heavy and therefore remain below. Just as when a dead body lies, all carnivorous birds flock to it, so when the Son of Man appears from heaven, who died for us and was imputed to a corpse, all the saints and the Angels themselves will gather. For He will come with them in the glory of the Father and in unspeakable splendor. Although He called this time night, He called it so because it is unexpected and that darkness will then embrace sinners. But light will shine on the righteous, and they themselves will be enlightened like the sun (Mt. 13:43).